


Singing the Song of a New World

by OoOMagnoliaOoO



Series: The songs of the Phoenix [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 104 training squad, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Death, F/F, F/M, Humor, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sarcastic Levi, Survival of the Fittest, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies, erenxlevi - Freeform, ereri, riren - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-03-21 07:31:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3683502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OoOMagnoliaOoO/pseuds/OoOMagnoliaOoO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A world full of dead things roaming, and those who are alive trying to put an end to it. And then there’s Levi, just trying to survive. Survive the Armageddon. A modern day apocalypse if you will. Just survive, don’t think. Live, don’t drink the water. And then there’s Eren. Eren’s... well... Eren, ladies and gentlemen, is royally fucking screwed.</p><p>ON HIATUS!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Don't drink the water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The newest addition to my fanfiction archive :) hope you enjoy.

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

”Dammit!” That was the last straw for the young... youngish? Aw, screw it, I was getting old as hell. Well that was indeed the last straw. Damn engine. Damn... damn... Aw hell, I don't even know what the damn thing was called. 

 

And word of the day ladies and gentlemen. You guessed it. Damn. 

 

A word just like any other fine word in the English language. In any language really. Really fine indeed.

 

A background story is probably in order. The man trying to fix his car? His name’s Levi. He’s currently unemployed, single and... driving a wreck of a car? Yeah. Indeed. 

 

Oh, that little detail? Being unemployed and single and well, driving a wreck of a car? Well that goes back to the day I was born. Ok, that was an exaggeration. It actually doesn’t go back that far. 

 

You see, I was as happy as any thirty-two year old still living with his college roommate could be. Well ok that was exaggeration too. No, I wasn’t the somewhat happy child he’d been. I wasn’t unhappy though. I always went about my days with a routine. 

 

Wake up, shower, eat, watch some TV, go job hunting, another shower, dinner, some more TV, and some more TV, and some more before it was finally supper and then it was off to bed. Of course then there was occasional breaker of that routine. Yes, you guessed it again. She was also unemployed and living on my couch, smoking dope all day until she raided the fridge, had another brownie and went to sleep. Hanji. 

 

She even took me out shopping for clothes, out to bars, set me up on the occasional date and so on and so forth. 

 

Yet, I always stuck to my routine. Wake up, shower, eat, watch some TV, find out there’s an apocalypse happening outside the window, go job hunting... Oh wait I didn’t do that that day. 

 

And there you have it folks. The stuff of dreams. Or nightmares. Whichever way you choose to look at it. Well whatever terminology you choose to go by, it’s still the same. The end of mankind, end of civilization, the end of the modern day human. I thought about just going as simple as calling it the end of the world, but that would be too, well, classic. And also totally wrong. So far as I knew the world was still spinning. As previously stated, as far as I knew. 

 

”Damn, damn, damn!” And the dam overflowed, the water poured out, don’t drink the water, tick tock tick tock goes the coo coo clock! 

 

I must be going crazy. Damn, I really needed a smoke. But then again, no lighter. Ah, what the hell. 

 

And so I went about trying to find one in that ridiculously large garage. I searched several cans, several storage compartments, even in the can. Yeah, I’m literally talking about the crapper. No real shock there. My friends always used to call me out on my shit jokes. No pun intended. Ok, a little bit of pun intended. 

 

As my search for a lighter was approaching its climax I finally found one. What the hell is up with people going on about shit always being the last place you look? Of course it’s always the last place you look, you usually don’t continue looking after you find the damn thing. 

 

And bingo! The glove compartment of a fucking Volvo with its rearview mirror torn off. Sitting down never felt so good in my entire life. 

 

Now you may think I should take better care of myself considering I might be the last man on earth. I’ve seen this movie. I die at the end, don’t I? No but in all seriousness, I really should. I really frickin’ should. 

 

I breath in the toxic fumes anyway. And as for being the last man on earth. Close, but no cigar. Okay not even close. And fuck, would a cigar be nice right now. I’m not the last man on earth. 

 

When this thing broke out, call it a virus, a disease, a mutation, whatever. Anyways, when it broke out it wasn’t like the movies. People are apparently more paranoid than those starry eyed actors you see on the big screen. That’s the beauty of any animals living in large packs. If one part of the herd moves, so does the rest. What I’m trying to say is that people, they spook easily. They bolt the moment shit hits the fan. And this time, shit hit the fan so hard it flew everywhere. 

 

Another drag of smoke before it was time to go. Where am I going you ask? I haven’t the foggiest. Somewhere sunny. Actually scratch that, I hate the fucking sun. Somewhere rainy? I don’t like water that much... Don’t drink the water. 

 

My mind started fogging up. It always did when water came into my mind. I don’t know why. It’s been this way for a while. Ever since...

 

Oh well, so here I am, trying to make my way somewhere down to paradise city where the grass it green and the boys are pretty. 

 

Yeah, that’s me, I’m-Mr.-Flamboyantly-gay.  _ Guuuuuuuilty!  _

 

I’m too busy with my own fucking imagination to realize there’s a car pulling up? Don’t worry, that’s just Hanji. I made it sound like she didn’t survive right? Well sure fooled ya’ there, right? 

 

A second after the car pulled up it comes to a stop. The engine goes dead. 

 

”Yo, shitty-glasses. If you gonna take that long to get here the next time I’m going to sho-...”

 

It’s not Hanji.

 

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weird, yes? But you have to admit you kinda liked it, just a little bit =P 
> 
> Okay so the next part is going to be Eren’s point of view, and don’t worry, the chapters are not going to be this short in the future! This is just a prologue, an intro if you will! So stay tuned! Love ya my little zombies! Until next time, JA NE! XD
> 
> P.S: If you’re a big fan of Naruto and especially of SasuSaku, I’ve got a treat for you! Head on over to my fanfiction.net profile. It’s Foambanana. Over there are some great SasuSaku stories, mostly one-shots, but there is one 18 chapter zombie-fic called zombieland that is quite heavily influenced by the movie with the same name, but what the hell... SUE ME IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT! I’m sure you will though XD Anyways, I’m rambling. So yeah, check out Foambanana, also don’t forget to leave a kudos and favorite!
> 
> UPDATE! I changed Levi's age to 32 :)


	2. Just the regular irregular

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And then there's Eren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo so here's the latest chapter, hope you enjoy peeps. Sorry about the late update, school taking up all my time.  
> As per usual this shit's not beta-read. I know... I suck.  
> Also, read and leave a comment, maybe a kudos?

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

Have you ever wished you were somebody else? Say, if you’re short you want to be somebody who’s taller. Or if you’re chubby, you want to be somebody who’s skinner. Or if you’re just a little bit out of it, you want to be somebody who’s got their shit together. 

 

I sure do. I’ve never been the best at sports, or academics. I was just an average teenager. You know, one of those awkward ones running around the high school all day. Yeah one of those motherfuckers. 

 

I wasn’t overly handsome, or confident, or even cool. No, quite the opposite actually. 

 

I was a hotheaded yet shy guy, with nothing to his name. And that name is Eren Yeager. 

 

I did alright during my time. I didn’t hit my growth spurt or find the girl I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. I didn’t even get to lose my virginity. The first and last time I even kissed a girl was in 7th grade during 7 minutes in heaven. 

 

And then... And then the apocalypse happened. I didn’t have any choice. I had to run. So here I am, somewhere in fucking Texas. Didn’t know what to do, where to go or where to settle for the night. 

 

The food lay scattered on the floor of the convenient store. My foot connected with something metal and with a nudge, a can of soup rolled across the flat surface. 

 

”Score!” Trying to contain my happiness I then went about trying to solve the other problem I had. How the hell was I going to open the damn can? No can opener anywhere around here. 

 

With a sigh heavier than Jean’s mom, I put the canned goods and the water I had collected into the semi-big bag pack I’d found a couple of weeks earlier in New Orleans. 

 

Originally being from the small town of Sheldon in the county of Wyoming, I had an extremely difficult time trying to get around. First of all, just from Sheldon to Philly was 15 and a half hours of pure hell in the beginning of this godforsaken apocalypse. Not only was the roads infested with those dead beings, but there just had to be survivors. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against people. Bad people trying to kill you and steal everything you have, sure, but good samaritans, never. 

 

Unfortunately, not many of those were left. 

 

Though one time while I was traveling through Washington DC, I found these awesome grannies living in an abandoned factory. Although the place was constantly surrounded by zombies, they just sat there on the roof. Drinking beer and shooting with their snipers anything that got too close to the fence. Well, only reason I got in was because I had beer. 

 

Robbing a liquor store during the apocalypse, you ask? Not a good idea in case you wanted to try it out. Too many alarms to set off, not to speak about the tremendous effort to keep the bottles from clinking together. 

 

Yeah, Zombies are sound sensitive? How did you know? You saw it in a movie? Well, those movies don’t portrait zombies fairly. 

 

Okay so first off, they do not hear everything you do. Yes, loud things and annoying sounds, but we all do. Human or Zombie, we’re not really that far from each other. 

 

For one, they all used to be like us. Alive. That’s another thing. While they basically are these rotting corpses, they do have a beating heart. I’m talking about the fact that they are basically brain dead. Yeah, laugh all you want, but really think about it. Without a beating heart nothing can move. Blood is what fuel is to engines. It’s what keeps us going. 

 

Getting into this godforsaken part of the city wasn’t the hard part. The hard part was getting  _ out  _ of this godforsaken part of the city. In the apocalypse your legs are your best friend. 

 

Try getting a car, people say? Hell no! It’s too damn loud and it has the unfortunate habit of running out of gas. So here I am, trying to walk from point A to point B on foot. It would probably be easier if I did have a car. A bike would probably be the most efficient. Sadly, there weren’t any of those around either. 

 

So where to go but the one place I knew I’d be safe? The little shack I’d built for myself on one of the rooftops. Getting there wasn’t overly hard considering zombies mainly showed up during the night. Not that they were sensitive to sunlight. Just the fact that they walk around with constant fevers. Night time’s cooler. Brings a fresh breeze and a nice change of pace from the usual gazing sunlight that is Texas. Oh America. 

 

The ladder was still hidden behind the dumpster a block away. I didn’t wanna keep it close to the rooftop in case someone decided to raid it. I had all of my valuables up there, I wasn’t going to lose them again. Plus, the ladder attached to the wall was easy enough to grasp if you only jumped high enough. Like I said. Not losing my stuff again. 

 

One time in New Orleans, I did. I lost the most valuable thing to me. Her name was Mikasa. She was my rock. The only thing I could ever depend on. She wasn’t my biological sister, but she was the closest thing to it. Her parents were killed when she was nine and ever since she’s been living with me and my two parents. Used to. 

 

You never really get used to that part. Where you lose everything and everybody close to you. People went crazy for a lot less. There was once a shelter. I know, much like a story, but bare with me. 

 

There was once this shelter I used to crash at during the nights. One night one of the women just walked straight out onto the street after lights out. She wasn’t sleepwalking or nothing like that. She just couldn’t take it anymore. Stupid bitch forgot to close the door that is. And that’s the last human contact I had. In New Orleans. And now sanctuary on a freaking rooftop. 

 

After climbing the ladder I usually pull it up with me to make sure the walking dead or somebody else could get up without my say so. I wasn’t the sanest person out there, but I wasn’t suicidal at least. Well maybe according to one person. 

 

”He’s gone now too” I pulled out a big hunting knife out of its case. I stabbed straight into the canned soup and made a fire. The walkers weren’t smart enough to notice the smoke from the rooftops, and even if they were they’d never get up here. 

 

I poked the fire a couple of times during the soups cooking time before I decided I might as well eat it cold. Then again... warm soup tasted so much better. 

 

” _ In the dead of the night _

_  in the dead of the dark _

_  Out of your sights _

_  They appear, the dead, the herds _

_  And they’re singing the songs of a new world” _

 

_... Somewhere in the U.S _

 

”Fuck Erwin! You scared the living shit out of me” 

 

”Sorry Levi” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know you thought they were going to meet, but this shit's going to go pretty slow. Not update wise (Maybe that too) no I mean it's going to be a pretty slow build. Hopefully you'll stick with me and find the story quite interesting once it progresses a little bit :) 
> 
> So until next time, JA NE XD 
> 
> P.S: In case you were wondering, the cursive text at the end is Eren singing.  
> P.P.S: Yeah, I wrote that song. So don't copy XD


	3. What a difference a minute makes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The difference between life and death could be as little as half a minute...

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

”Damn it Erwin! you scared the living shit out of me” 

 

”Sorry Levi”

 

”What was that?” 

 

”Nevermind... Let’s just go. Hanji found enough gas to make this one run. Plus we found the parts we needed. It’s all fixed” And there goes my hard work, right into the damn trash, and all for nothing. 

 

”So you mean I just spent the last few hours trying to make this one run?” Erwin shrugged. He does that a lot. Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t an asshole or anything like that. He just has a hard time finding words. 

 

”We both know that it won’t work anyway. Besides, we’ll survive with the one we already have for a little while longer. I’m sure there are a lot of SUV’s in Texas” I gave a sarcastic chuckle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an asshole or anything... Okay, I really am. 

 

”So remind me why we’re going to fucking Texas?” A last drag of the cigarette before I mash it under my boot. Die little fucker. And then it’s dead.

 

”You know how she is. Once she gets an idea, you can’t stop her” Erwin gave a small grunt. A little grunt of pain, barely audible. I knew why he was in pain. His hand instinctively went to the stump, where his arm used to be.

 

”Still hurting?” A small nod of confirmation. Not even that was necessary. You could see it in his eyes. Everything still hurt. And it wasn’t going away either. Not like that, not now, not ever. 

 

”So, where is she?” Erwin snapped out of his little trance and gave me a look that could only mean that he wasn’t listening ”I said, where is she?” Erwin shrugged his shoulders once again.

 

”I haven’t the foggiest. I think she’s on her way here. Last time I saw her she said she was going to try to get the last of the gas out of the tank. You know her though. Like I said once she get’s an idea, you can’t stop her. For all I know she’s probably run off to chase some imaginary dragon” Syphoning gas was the only way to get fuel around here. Wasn’t like you were going to be able to fix it any other way. 

 

All the gas stations shut down pretty fast after that. Soon after a lot of the electricity went dead as well. Without it there was no way to refill the stations and no way to pump the gas into the cars. 

 

”Please don’t tell me that she’s found some weed. God, I cannot take care of that woman when she’s high, you know how-... Wait. You left her alone? Out there?” Erwin gave a low chuckle with his baritone voice. 

 

”You do know that she would probably be able to talk them to death. Or at the very least make them just turn around and walk away. But hey, what do I know? I’ve just been dating her for the last couple of years or so”

 

A week out of college we had met Erwin, and one day, years later I find them doing it on the couch in our living room. Yup, he was that smooth. 

 

”Sure, I realized when I found you doing it like bunnies” 

 

”Oh yeah I remember that time. You were just complaining about how we were ruining the cushion's or whatnot. I can’t even remember these days” 

 

Hanji decided that this was the most perfect time to intervene. 

 

”Maybe you shouldn’t have dr-” My mind just shut that incident out. So I kept my mouth shut about it ”So you got enough gas to get us to Texas?”  

 

”Sure did! There was a lot of it. Did you know that a lot of the cars around here actually have mostly full tanks. I can’t believe nobody thought about doing this” And of course she thinks that we’re the first people trying to do this. 

 

”You are just that stup-” 

 

”Choose your battles” Erwin warned. Not in a threatening way, but he knew how much she loves a good debate on the inner workings of her brain. I’d probably offer to show her what her brain actually looks like, but sadly I need her for some reason. 

 

In a good operation you need at least the essentials. Food, water, basic hygienic articles and somewhere to sleep. But you also need the basic people with their own skills and mindset. 

 

Hanji was unfortunately the medic. With her six years of med school and several years being a resident. So worrying about her drug use? Don’t worry, it’s not recreational. It’s for her sleeping problems. And some heavy anxiety. She never used during business hours though, and only in the safety of her own home. Well...our home. That is until she did smoke a joint at work. She lost her license and was banned from ever performing surgery again. Not that it mattered anymore. No more dope to smoke.  

 

”So... Are we ready to go?” I nodded.

 

”Let’s do this”

 

_ On the rooftop in Texas _

 

The sun had been up for several hours now. Not that it mattered. I always rose an hour earlier, just to see the bastards crawl into a more comfortable place during the hotter hours of the days. 

 

The last step of the ladder is always the most annoying. It’s been broken again. Fixing it would require new rope and another piece of pretty sturdy wood. 

 

”Guess I’ll have to fix it sooner or later. Might as well do it now” So with the constant dread and being slightly annoyed I set out to find me some rope and a sturdy plank of some sort. Luckily I knew a hardware store in town. Unlucky for me however, that part of the town was totally swamped with the undead. 

 

”Hm, maybe I could cut through the lawns” I said optimistically to myself. Sadly I knew that it would mean I had to take a huge detour that would set me back at least half an hour. I was kind of hoping I could find some more supplies. My food was getting dangerously low. Same with the water. However water was easier to find considering you could find water basically everywhere. 

 

I set out on my journey and felt a weird calm wash over me. And the day was just beginning. 

 

_ At the garage _

 

”Shit, I almost forgot my bag. Be right back” I turned around and jogged in a steady pace back to the workstation. I looked around for half a minute before finally finding it sitting on top of the toolbox in the corner. 

 

Problem is, that half minute could have gone very differently had I chosen to just ignore my bag. Turning around I was met by a gurgling sound. The sound of an approaching dead man. I was almost instantly jumped by the dead one. 

 

He was on top of me in a second. A terrible smell coming from his mouth and flesh still stuck in his teeth. He’d come through the backdoor too quickly for me to notice. I was however a smarter person than him. So I got out of its grip too quickly for it to realize. With the barrel of the gun pointed squarely at his temporal bone. When I pulled the trigger, brains flew everywhere. 

 

At the sound of my gun going off Hanji came running.

 

”Levi, what the fuck is going-” a quick glance she saw the corpse of my attacker. I got up and dusted myself off. 

 

”That dead one is what’s going on... He has fresh flesh between its teeth” You could tell whether it was fresh or not. If it was still a pink hue to the flesh it was recently eaten. If it wasn’t, well... you get the idea.  

 

”Shit... so I was right, someone was following us” You see Hanji was given a unique ability. The ability of being completely out of it and wildly paranoid. So we always chucked it up to not having taken her medication since the end of civilization. 

 

She usually says that paranoia is the side effect of being repeatedly right. This time was one of those times. 

 

”You knew it was following you and yet you still came back. You couldn’t have circled the block a couple times just to make sure? And better yet why didn’t you fucking tell us?” Hanji knelt down and pulled its cheek. She was authenticating my find. She then stood with a concerned look on her face. Her lips tightened into a thin line, eyes half lidded and switching its point of focus every third second. 

 

”No” She finally spoke ”No, I’m not talking about it, though I suppose you’re kind of right. I’m talking about whoever it ate. There is a slight possibility that he or she didn’t die instantly. They might either be in danger or still trailing us. Either way we need to find them. And had I told you about my suspicions you probably would’ve written it off as simply insane” I snorted. 

 

”I probably would have, but still...” Another deep breath passed through my nostrils ”So say we find this supposed person, what are we going to do? Invite them to join us. ”Hey I heard you might be dying and we wanted you to join us on our journey, just to make sure you infect and kill us!” No thank you. I’m not sticking around for that” Faintly in the distance you could hear Erwin getting out of the car. 

 

”No, either way we’ll kill them. Put them out of their misery or send a message” My arms crossed across my chest and I took a defensive pose before throwing my hands up in a confused gesture. 

 

”To whom? The dead? Don’t worry, I think they’ve got it. I don’t think they haven’t realize we’ll kill them if we get the chance” The taller blonde entered the room. 

 

”Not to them. Think about it. Say this person is traveling alone, they might still have something we need. If they didn’t then the son of a bitch might still have an accomplice or two. We send a message. ”You fuck with us we fuck back” Something like that” It took but a moment for the thought to register. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. 

 

”What is going on?” Erwin finally asked. My eyes met his briefly before diverting them. 

 

”That...” I pointed at the dead one ”... tried to attack me. It has fresh flesh between its teeth. It must have eaten something. Person or persons unknown might still be trailing us. We’re discussing strategy. If that person had an accomplice we might be able to either send a message or ambush them. If not then we might get supplies. Either way we win. So hopefully we get both” Erwin nodded after a few moment of thinking. 

 

”Might not be such a bad idea. Let’s do it. We should probably get out of here. That shot will attract walkers from miles away” Without that extra half a minute we wouldn’t have found out somebody was trailing us. For better or worse, my skills of observation always came in handy. 

 

The car always smelled like a faint saddle leather, Erwin touched his chin while bluffing in poker, Hanji always put her glasses on her head and then forgetting about them, you know the little things people notice after hanging out with them for too long. 

 

The car started with a few tries and we set out on our tracking mission.

 

”Which direction Levi?” I thought about it for a moment.

 

”Well, the forest provides perfect coverage and the dangerous path. However the highway might be better since it’s the polar opposite. I’m gonna go with the forest on this one. They didn’t make it so they must have died just by the creek” Hanji turned around in her seat and gave me a puzzled look. 

 

”What... The corpse was wet. It must have come from a close water source. The creek is the closest one around” Without further argument the brunette turned her attention back to the road. 

 

It wasn’t half an hour later before we arrived at the steep creek. 

 

”So where do we start looking?” Studying the place a little at first I decided that the shallow parts might be best to look at first. The shallower the easier to wade through it in case of a sneak-attack. 

 

”The shallow end” Hanji gave me dumb-folded look ”Do I really need to explain? You’ve known me for a decade. When have I ever been wrong?” 

 

”True” She made her way through the rough terrain ”But there is a first time for everything” 

 

”I never got that saying. What if you never do something? What if you never go bungee jumping?” A laughter escaped her lips. 

 

”How do you know with absolute certainty that you’re not going to? Sure, not right now. But in the future?” Now I was the one laughing. 

 

”Right, because we live in such a nice world. Such a calm place and experts crawling around. Quite literally actually. It’s too quiet” Erwin had stopped just ahead and was kneeling close to something. And there it was. Stuck in the river, newly turned and absolutely gruesome. 

 

”Why do you ever doubt me? Had this been a bet you’d’ve lost a couple bucks easily” 

 

”I’ll just have to take your word for it. Not like money matters anymore though. Unless you wanna make a short lived fire... Looks like that backpack is stuck as well”

 

I turned around, starting to walk back to the car. 

 

”Let’s bail. There’s nothing here to collect anyway”   

 

”Really? Now I do need to ask” And there goes the understanding. Not that it mattered really. I was the one person who understood the inner workings of  _ my  _ brain. And so explanations were normal and sometimes borderline decipherable. 

 

”Wet bag. So whatever that person collected it’s soaked. Even it was a couple of bottles of water it isn’t worth the risk. Killing it, bringing the bag to land may take too long. If there are more lurkers in the area they might try to sneak up on us. I am not risking that. Erwin, second?” 

 

To make sure that there were no hard feelings within our small group we used a system as old as politics. Seconding motions. Two against one was really the best way to go. With a fourth person and even numbers there was a slight probability with the two against two problem. 

 

My eyes locked with Erwin’s and of course I could see before he answered.

 

”Sorry Levi... Hanji is right. With two people pulling it up and a third keeping watch there is a bigger chance of success” Throw your hands up in the air if you feel like life treated you like its bitch sometimes. 

 

”I’m sorry, what!?” My hands instinctively went to my head. And there goes the hair pulling. Lips tightened and eyebrows furrowed I turned back ”Who do you suppose is up for that task? You have one arm, not enough to carry any weapon at all. Unless you have one hidden in your boxers. I have one, maybe two bullets left. And even if I or Hanji did it we’d still be faced with the arm problem. If that thing bites you, you’ll be armless, Erwin!” 

 

”Ha. Armless Erwin... Sorry” As much as Hanji loved him, she still had a disturbing interest in dark humor. Really dark. 

 

It took a moment for us to come back to the initial point of discussion. 

 

”Look, I don’t like these odds either, but we need it. You and I both know that it’s a long fucking way to Texas.” 

 

”I’m sorry. Was I not clear the first time? We’re not doing this. Fuck the second motion thing. Think rationally. The math has to add up. The probability is what? Twenty percent success-rate?” My distress could clearly be heard. Hanji spoke up. 

 

”Actually... It’s probably lower. If we don’t find anything and waste bullets there is nothing gained. Still...” 

 

I was going bat-shit insane over their fucking arguments. 

 

”Still what? What could possibly be so damn benefactory about this? No matter how you look at it we’re fucking screwed” I turned around to walk away. I wasn’t arguing with them anymore. It was pointless.

 

”You were pretty screwed too” I froze. Everything seemed to freeze at that moment. The singular moment thesis is based on the fact that nothing happens just once. And it never does. Because I really was. Then and now. So I turned back. 

 

She cleared her throat.

 

”Back at the farm. Your chances of survival were zero. It was so low Erwin and I were both about to leave several times. We discussed it. We talked about it so many times there was nothing to talk about anymore. And when we were finally about to leave... You started to get better. You recovered. You survived. But you were so close, Levi. You were dying. If there was one thing that I’ve learned from all of this is that hope defies all laws of physics. All laws of science of statics, math... Everything. Hope and miracles, Levi. So that’s why we’re doing this. We’re killing this thing and we’re gathering everything we can before more of them join the breakfast club and make us the main course. Are you going to help or not?” 

 

I had nothing left to argue about. I was drained. Plus my case was pretty much lost. A huge sigh and then I un-holstered my gun. An official mission had begun. My concentration was focused on every living thing. Everything. Anything. The slightest movement. Erwin and Hanji, the leaves, the forest, the flow of the water. My ears hearing every sound. Everything became so much clearer now. The slice of the blade cutting every last connection to the dead guy's brain. 

 

And my comrades pulled with all of their strength. 

 

“Damn. It’s stuck… The damn Z-fucker is stuck on something. I’m just going to check it out. Maybe if I get my hand under-... FUCK! Guy’s I’m stuck in some kind of vine. Erwin give me a hand over here…. Right. Well the one you have left. Just let go of the zombie. I’ll get the bag, just pull me up” 

 

*Crack*

 

As soon as I heard it I knew we were fucked. Hanji screamed her lungs out. I knew the moment I heard it that her leg was broken. The sickening sound. At the very least something splintered very loudly. 

 

“DON’T FUCKING PULL! OH MY GOD THIS SHIT HURTS” We’re screwed. I was going to have to carry her back. Erwin was going to have to shoot. It wasn’t a perfect situation. Fuck rational decisions. This was damage control. 

 

Quickly the mood changed. The setting did too. This was formation mode. Erwin grabbed the gun from my hand. I grabbed Hanji. With a strong pull she was out of the water. Her leg wasn’t broken. There was just a huge branch puncturing her calf. Hopefully we’d avoid infection. Worst case scenario was too mentally challenging to even imagine. 

 

With backpack in hand I grabbed the soaked woman in my arms like some kind of sickly damsel in distress. Like we’re all playing dressup and I’m some sort of prince, saving her from the big bad… branch? Kill me now. My life was turning into some kind of comedy. I fucking hate comedies. At the very least this was irony. Hope led her into this situation. And all was lost. In the distance gurgling could be heard. So we ran. 

 

When doing damage control, you never walk. Always run. There is no doubt in my mind that running has saved our asses more times than not.

 

Parking the car just up the hill was one of the smarter decisions we’d made today. Surely we’ve made smarter choices during the course of our partnership, but this was one of those times it saved our lives. 

 

“Start the car Levi. I’ll take her” She slipped out of my arms and Erwin slung her over his shoulder. Despite the loss of his arm he was still one of the strongest people I knew. The keys were always left in the car. Usually in the storage box or in the ignition. This time they weren’t in either. I panicked for a brief moment. Then I realized they were in Hanji’s pocket.  

 

“Hanji! The fucking keys!” Erwin quickly patted her down and tossed a small pair of keys in my direction. They were immediately put into the ignition. After a couple of tries the engine went on full drive. Erwin barely made it into the backseat. 

 

In the rearview mirror I could see the undead chasing us. What difference a damn minute could make…

  
  
  



	4. How I loved that dog

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

“Fuck. Damn paranoid fuckers” Of course there had to be a lock. A hardware store. A hardware store that was locked and deadbolted. Hopefully this meant someone wanted to keep people out rather than lock them in. 

 

There was a fifty-fifty chance of both being true. I decided circling and looking for a window might be the best way to go about this. It was a freestanding building with only two doors. A backdoor for employees and one for the general population. Two entrances and two exits. This was going to be fun. 

 

Though I didn’t need to even step into the store. There was a plank and some rope just around the corner. Not that I knew that. I wish I had though. 

 

That fifty-fifty just became a hundred when a herd of walkers swarmed through the tiny door. I bolted. 

 

And I ran. Towards the safety of my roof. 

 

_ Nearby _

 

I pulled the key out of the ignition and our group got out of the car. Erwin slowly opened the door, just to check if it was safe enough. 

 

“It’s green. Now help me get her out” I dropped the cigarette and ground it out before walking to the other side of the car. Erwin already had his existing arm around her waist. With me grabbing the other side we dragged her a couple of feet away from the vehicle. 

 

I doubled back and grabbed all the supplies I could manage. I was about to close the door when I found the bag. The bag that caused all the trouble. I thought about just leaving it. It wasn’t up to chance anymore. This was just destiny spitting in my face. 

 

Hope. 

 

Yeah, I had to look. 

 

The zipper opened quickly. And there was nothing. Nothing at all. Just a wet piece of garbage. 

 

“Are you fucking kidding me!?” Closing the door with a little more rage than I probably should’ve, I walked back. “There is nothing in this fucking thing! It’s fucking empty! Fucking, fuck!” 

 

Everybody’s souls died a little bit. You could practically see all the hope drain out of them. No… You cannot count on a miracle. You can only count on the hard science. 

 

The item that seemed to be laughing at me, flew a couple feet in the air before I finally kicked it. Where, I have no idea. 

 

My feet kicking, my hands flailing and balled into fists, every muscle tightening. Everything. Everything hurt. My body, my soul. I had failed. Had I not listened to Hanji’s smoke in fun house mirrors logic we wouldn’t be in this situation. I shouldn’t have tracked that damn thing. I should have come up with some bogus story about really anything. Hope. Hope could bite my skinny, pale, white ass! 

 

A couple of minutes and some serious breathing exercises later I decided it just wasn’t worth the effort. 

 

We made it to Texas. That’s all my brain would repeat. We made it to Texas. We’re alive. We made it to Texas. 

 

The parking lot was abandoned and probably have been since the very beginning. There was an eerie feeling to the place. Like something was seriously off. The concrete was stained red in some places. Big splotches of blood. 

 

A few weeds growing and lines fading. But no cars. There were a bunch of tire tracks, but none leading in any particular direction. Nothing to pinpoint their location. And no bodies. Where there was blood there was usually bodies. But there was nothing. 

 

Shopping carts lay on their sides in mud. Some missing vital parts. Some wheels here, a couple of bars there. 

 

Somebody was here. Raiding. Recently. Somebody that wasn’t too far away. Everything was gone. 

 

After some observation of the wall-mart sign, my observation turned back to the hurt one currently sweating every last drop of water out of her body. 

 

The blood had caked and veins too visible. This was not good. 

 

“What’s the diagnosis doc?” Her hand wiped away a few droplets threatening to fall into her eyes. Breathing too elevated for her own good. I knew it was bad. I just knew. But I needed to know it was bad. 

 

“Sepsis… In layman's terms, blood poisoning…” Erwin made no attempt to keep calm. Her leg was badly battered. It looked gruesome. 

 

“How do we treat it?” The words barely registered. My brain understood the individual words, but not the meaning. Let alone that I had been the one asking the question. 

 

“It’s a complication of infection, causing the antibodies in your body to trigger an inflam-” 

 

“I didn’t fucking ask you to tell me what it is. I helped you study for every exam you ever had. Remember? I know what sepsis is. Please don’t tell me-...” My words just stopped flowing. There was nothing left to say. 

 

“Antibiotics. A strong dose and intravenous fluids will knock it right out. Since it’s still early-” Erwin lost all hope.

 

“There are no hospitals here. And even if there were we wouldn’t be able to do anything. We need to find a pharmacy. Or at the very least somebody with antibiotics” He was panicking. It was too obvious. You could practically see his pulse jumping up and down under his shirt. 

 

“What, you’re saying that somebody with penicillin will just hand it over because, well we’re such nice people with somebody injured. It doesn’t work like that anymore” 

 

He went silent. So did Hanji. Not because they were thinking. They stared at me in unison. 

 

“In this world, there is no way anybody is handing anything over without asking for something in return. Impossible requests really that might end up with one of us dead. So really it’s all about… How do I put this?” Hanji started fidgeting the hem of her shirt. She always did that when she got uncomfortable. 

 

And so I let it sink in. Hanji being nervous, Erwin at a loss for words. 

 

“So we’re either going to have to steal… or…” I went quiet. They could not possibly be thinking… or could they?

 

“Wait… You’re not seriously suggesting that we… That we murder somebody?” Silence fell over our group. I felt sick. I felt no air in my lungs, no hope in my heart. And no way in hell was I going to kill somebody that was still living. Somebody that hadn’t turned. 

 

“It’s just like a zombie. You just gotta do it sometimes” 

 

There was a dilemma within our group. 

 

There always had been a strong sense of morality, a strong sense of right and wrong. With Hanji having been a surgeon, Erwin having been a cop and me… just being me. 

 

“What are your chances without it?” She shook her head, still panting. I knew what that shake ment. No more Hanji. Without much of a choice left I grabbed my gun and I checked for bullets. One left. One single bullet. 

 

I didn’t even want to suggest it, but my lips moved on their own.

 

“I got one bullet left… One bullet” They didn’t get it. So I pointed it point blank to her forehead.

 

Her eyes blew up tenfold. 

 

“We could end this. Quick, dirty… But easy. Or we could go the hard way… What do you want to do Hanji?” Erwin tried to grab it from me “I’m asking her what she wants to do, Erwin! This is her life! Not yours!” 

 

“She’s my girlfriend! I do get a say in this” Just when a brawl was about to break out between us Hanji spoke up.

 

“Do it… It’s not worth the effort. I got us into this mess and I’m ending it” Before I could pull the trigger however a loud boom was heard in the distance. Out of a small forest came what seemed like a thousand lurkers. I didn’t have time to think. I holstered it, grabbed Hanji and once again we drove off. 

 

“Not fucking again! Are you kidding me! That was too damn close!” Erwin grabbed my gun out of its sheath and pointed it into the back of my skull. 

 

“You motherfucker Levi… I can’t believe you would even fucking suggest it. What you just did was so across the line it wasn’t even on the fucking map!” I rammed my foot far into the breaks and it caused Erwin to almost go flying out the window… Had he not been wearing a seatbelt. 

 

“What the hell was that for!” I turned around, grabbed the gun out of his hand and stopped him from making a big mistake. 

 

“Your girlfriend was the one who chose it. I wasn’t actually going to pull the trigger. Had she really wanted it I would have given her the damn gun. I’m not a killer, as previously stated. We will all work hard… And we will get her the damn antibiotics. Okay?” No answer from either one of them “Alright then, onwards we go” And so I once again drove. 

 

After some awkward silence Erwin finally spoke up again.

 

“That blast didn’t sound too far away. There is a distinct possibility that it was a trap” Traps meant survivors. Or it meant more zombies. There was the hope thing again.

 

“You want to check it out?” I nodded. We drove a couple of blocks until we saw one skinny dude running from an entire herd.

 

And our jaws just dropped. 

 

_ Eren’s perspective _

 

I had a dog… Once upon a time, before this whole thing started, I had a dog. He would always sleep next to me at night. He would lick my face every time I cried as if he was telling me that everything was going to be alright. When I got older, I went with him jogging. Long runs, like a 10k or something like that. And then he died. 

 

But I kept jogging. Thanks to him, I was able to run faster than ever. It felt like I was flying and one single tilt forward would propel me through the asphalt to China. I felt invincible. There was at least a couple yards between me and the fastest walker. 

 

Somewhere in the distance I could hear a car. A fast approaching one. So I decided to do the most responsible thing. I ran away from it. With lurkers at my back we kept running away from the vehicle, currently coming closer.

 

I didn’t see it. I could look back. I needed to keep my eyes in front of me. So I ran. And I got closer to my roof. 

 

When I managed to finally hoist myself up, and I was in the relative safety of what I called home, I got to thinking. 

 

That once upon a time I had a dog, and thanks to him, I’m alive. He saved my life by running.

 

How I love that damn dog. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update XP I'll try to make the updates more frequent. Thank you for those who decided to stick with the story! This chapters was kind of short but I'll make sure to write a longer one the next time. Hopefully that won't take me three months XD Until next time, JA NE!


	5. Back to the basics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here it is, the long awaited chapter. Luckily I've already written the next one. I'll hold on to that for now, but it won't be long until that too is posted. So without further ado, back to the story!

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

_ Levi _

 

A wise guy once said to me; “Levi, if you wanna do solve something hard, you’ve got to go back to the basics” 

 

And I did.

 

When I was ten I had nothing. My mother had passed, my father… Well I didn’t know my father, my uncle had picked me up to later abandon me at the side of an icy road in the cold December chill. 

 

Life is cruel. It really is. Especially children. I hate kids. Do I? Yes… Maybe… I don’t know. 

  
_ “Go back to the basics” _

 

“Alright, Hanji, you stay in the car. Erwin, you too. I’m going to check on the damn… “ I opened the door but realized the alarm from some store was too loud” … Blast…” 

 

I quickly closed the door and backed out of there. And we drove away carefully, seeing the first signs of a storm up ahead… 

 

_ Eren _

 

Up on my rooftop, I was safe. I used to play pretend. I used to imagine that I was a blackbird and that I could fly away from this place. That I could just leave and never look back. That I could finally see the freedom behind the horizon. 

And that gave me hope. I wish I could finally just set free. 

 

In the background, thunder could be heard. A storm was approaching rapidly, and I had to get my supplies to safety quickly before everything I had gathered up to this point, would go to waste.

 

The most basic things went in first. Anything with textile, blankets, shoes, clothes and such was neatly tucked away in the tent. Next was the canned food. Luckily, or unluckily, there were only a few left. That reminded me that I need to stock up on more food. 

 

When this thing had started the first thing to go was the food. People hoarded. Without even thinking that other people might need some as well. Damn bastards. Most of them were dead now anyway, so what did it matter.

 

Lastly, the things that would rust or go to waste. All the firewood was underneath a raintight cover that provided shelter for things I could not fit in the tent. My weapons as well. The rest was secured with screws or ropes. 

 

With everything done, ten minutes had passed. The rain came down heavily. The rain created a tune, like music to my ears, as it hit the tents outer raincover. 

 

I sat, trying to wait out the storm. 

 

Any additional damage to my things would have to be fixed in the morning. I had put out some well needed buckets to collect the rainwater. Not the cleanest, but it would have to do. 

 

The tent was too big for me and I could hear the pushing and the pulling of the wind. I wouldn’t have to worry too much though. Even though the metal poles weren’t stuck into the concrete roof, I had managed with all my might to fix it with a screwdriver and everything I could use at my disposal. It wouldn’t be able to hold up for a bigger storm, but for now it was safe. There wasn’t a full on hurricane outside anyway. 

 

Repairs would have to wait until the morning. The damn tent, the ladder-...

 

While it was down, there was still an issue at hand. One I should have fixed long ago. With storms like this, it didn’t exactly stay there. The screws were a little loose. 

 

I proceeded with caution to the flap of the tent. And when I opened I was struck by a sudden realization. 

 

I wasn’t alone.

 

_ Ten minutes ago  _

_ Levi _

 

“We need to find shelter, and now. I don’t think that she will make it much further. Levi… Are you listening to me?” 

 

Of course I was listening. Of course I could hear him. But we sometimes turn the other way. We turn away from the truth. From realization. Favouring happiness over fact. And the fact was, she needed medicine, and quick. 

 

“Yeah… I hear you. We need to find a secluded place. I don’t know where though . We could wait this out in the car. Good a place as any. Right?” 

 

Of course I knew that wasn’t an option. It wasn’t safe. Zombies aren’t exactly strong, but they outnumber us. Which means in a critical condition we would need to drive away. If they blocked our path, that would be impossible. 

 

“The building up ahead looks adequate” 

 

Yeah, right. Adequate. 

 

“You do know that those people inside probably thought the same when they were… You know… People. I’m not taking a chance. The cons outweigh the pros in this case. The ideal place would be somewhere no walkers could reach…” 

 

Hanji pointed off into the distance “Maybe a roof then?” 

 

“Yeah, but we would need a ladder, wouldn’t we?” Erwin was always on point. 

 

“Most service buildings and lower roof company buildings usually have a fire escape. A ladder or stairs. We just need to find one” 

 

As fate would have it, we drove past one. I made a quick U-turn and shut the engine down. There were some lurkers around, but with the right distraction we might make it. 

 

From a collapsed building I could grab virtually anything from the rubble. None of those around. 

 

“Erwin, you aren’t going to like this… I need a wrench” 

 

“Then we’d be short a weapon” I nodded. I knew exactly what he meant. But that was the only thing I could think of that would make enough sound to attract them, and most important, get them away from the ladder. 

 

“I’ve calculated the risks. The outcome might go either way. But we need it.”

 

“There isn’t going to be shelter up there. It’s raining and we’re going to freeze to death. I don’t want hypothermia as well as sepsis. We should just stay in the car” 

 

She had a point. But what choice did we have. The car was going to run out of gas soon enough anyway. Keeping it on, just in case, would be a waste of battery and gas. 

 

“I know. We still have the tent, right?” Erwin did a quick turn over his shoulder, looking for something in the back. 

 

“Yeah, we still have it. There’s a hole in it though” From a lurker, no doubt. 

 

“Yeah, I know. Still. We make the best of what we have at hand. Somebody might have to cover it up. It can’t be more than a couple of inches, right?” He nodded “Alright then. We have a solution. Give me the wrench. When I throw it, stay hidden behind the car and run towards the roof. Erwin, I’m going to need you to boost me a little. Then we can climb up. I’m sorry Hanji, I know your leg hurts, but you are just going to have to pull through. It’s not a guaranteed outcome, but chances are better this way. You in?” 

 

She nodded. Erwin, I knew, was always in on my plans. 

 

The door opened slowly and I stepped out with caution. Erwin opened his slightly and gave me the tool. They both got in position and hid behind the car. I closed the doors and locked it manually, avoiding the sound. Then I threw it as far as I could. 

 

Out of the alley came five zombies. They could easily be avoided. Hanji and Erwin stayed hidden until my signal. The zombies were out of our path. And we moved. I could see Hanji’s pain, but also her determination to push through it. We ran. 

 

“Erwin, boost me” I whispered as quietly as I could. He gave me his free hand and wrapped it around me. His lifting got me into reach. Once my foot was on the lower, broken step, I waited. Hanji grabbed my ankle and Erwin in turned grabbed her uninjured one. Climbing up the ladder with a one armed man, and an injured woman wasn’t the easiest task in the world. But somehow we managed. Up ahead I saw a cord. I grabbed it as fast as I could and it gave me the right leverage to pull us all up. 

 

But most fire escapes didn’t have a rope… Right?

 

And when I turned, all hell broke loose. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger people, but to add to the exitement the next chapter is ten pages long, which is roughly about 12,000 words =) Until then, JA NE! XD


	6. Dawn approaches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woow... Looking back, I realized why people have been so confused. I've apparently missed one chapter. So here it comes XD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it ^^ Nothing more to say really. Anyway. 
> 
> Ja ne XD

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

**Previously**

 

**_Up ahead I saw a cord. I grabbed it as fast as I got up. That provided the leverage I needed._ **

 

**_But most fire escapes didn’t have a rope… Right?_ **

 

**_And when I turned, all hell broke loose._ **

 

**And now**

 

_ Eren _

 

Nothing could prepare me for this. Peaking out of a tent and seeing other humans. I didn’t know how to react. 

 

I was prepared for an attack, but actually undergoing it… In theory my plan sounded good, but practically I had some issues I had yet to work out. 

 

The rope was one of them. Perfect for me, but could be an issue. 

 

I pulled my gun, not knowing if they were friendly or not. I rose to my full height and aimed.

 

Before they relied what was going on, one of them said the others name. Erwin. 

 

“Stay right where you are. Don’t move, got it!?” My words came out as a scream and from the ground I could hear an oncoming herd approaching. 

 

“Wow, take it easy. We mean you no harm” I took a good look at them, one strong, built man with one arm, a short fella with short black hair holding a glock and one woman leaning onto the blonde with a limp. I focused on her leg… 

 

A black wound. A big one. 

 

“How did she get that!? Is she bit!?” The shorter raven didn’t reply. Neither did the other two. My eyes were no longer focused on her. 

 

The man in front of me, with the gun, caught my attention. For the most obvious reasons. 

 

Somebody points a gun at you, you point back. 

 

“Levi, lower the gun. I would ask that you do as well” I didn’t listen. I wasn’t going to, until he did. 

 

‘Levi huh?’

 

But he didn’t. That spoke to his character. Headstrong, paranoid, didn’t listen to others. But at the same time. Great survival instincts. 

 

“Is she bit or not?” The blonde tried to approach. I pulled the other gun from its holster and pointed at him as well. There wasn’t going to be any surprises. He backed off… Slightly at least. If that even. 

 

“No, she is not. Just let us explain” I looked him in the eye. I made a decision. 

 

“Explain fast!” I exclaimed. I kept my gun pointed at him. “And no funny business. Take one step out of place and you’re all dead. Got it?” 

 

“She got caught on a branch in a river. We were trying to get a bag off a walker and her leg got snatched. It was a through and through. Please, just lower your weapons. We’re not going to fire, if you don’t” I didn’t trust them, but at least the man on the left lowered his. So I holstered mine. 

 

“Why is it blue? Infection?” 

 

“Blood-poisoning” She countered “I need antibiotics fast. Otherwise I might die” 

 

My stash of medicine included a nice bottle of the stuff. But I was sceptical to their story. So I slowly approached her. 

 

“I just want to take a look. May I?” She gave her consent. Upon closer inspection I deemed their story to be true. I lowered my guard, but only slightly. I knew better than to trust somebody just like that. 

 

“Sepsis, right? So you need antibiotics and an IV?” 

 

“You a doctor?” The short man said. Truthfully, I wasn’t. While being the son of a surgeon didn’t necessarily meant that I knew everything he did, I knew the basics. I knew enough.

 

“No, my dad was. I don’t have an IV” He, the man named Levi, looked up with just a glimmer of hope visible in his eyes. 

 

“You don’t have an IV… but you never said anything about Antibiotics. Look, we’re not going to steal it from you, but maybe we can come to a solution that doesn’t mean a hail of bullets. Is there anything we could do? Maybe we can come to a peaceful solution?” 

 

In reality, I didn’t need anything. I had everything that I needed except a board for the ladder a block away. And that I could get myself. 

 

“What were your professions?” I knew it might seem like a strange question, but a career could really tell a lot about a person and their character. 

 

“I used to be a cop, Hanji was a doctor and Levi was a programmer” While the former two spoke to a great moral compass, the latter worried me. 

 

A social outcast, a loner. Though a great logical thinker. I could see the most obvious things about them through what they used to do. He seemed like the type to be a loner. 

 

Never judge a book by its cover. 

 

“Alright…” I thought long and hard before I answered. If I needed something I didn’t want to realize it afterwards. There was only one thing I needed “Let me join you. That’s my prize” The raven looked startled somehow. Sceptical, maybe. But the blonde answered right away. 

 

“Deal” He turned to Levi “I know I don’t get to make the logical decisions, but right now we need those antibiotics. He seems like a good person. I know that doesn’t mean we should trust each other to the fullest, but maybe just to a basis. I vote a yes” 

 

“So do I” The brunette seemed desperate enough. In the spur of the moment it seems like they’re quick thinkers with a great system. 

 

“When it comes to logical decisions I’ve got the final say. I have the right to totally ignore you, remember that! That aside, I don’t see a downside right now. I won’t give an answer, but I won’t say no” 

 

“Then we’re at an agreement?” The words passed my lips. They nodded in unison. 

 

You know that scene in a movie where two people look at each other and just know what’s right, be it love or anything else… That was the feeling inside my chest right now. I wasn’t alone anymore. 

 

Her breathing got heavier. 

 

“Wait right here. I’ll bring it to you” I ducked into the cold tent, grabbed a first aid kit and some bottled water. The antibiotics and other valuables were stored away safely in a tiny wooden box. I put the bottled water at the entrance along with the first aid. I stepped out of the cool tent out into the cold air and the rain. 

 

My hands reached for the key around my neck. The key found the lock before my mind even had time to react. What if they were bad people? Didn’t matter now. I’m not the person to go back on my word. 

 

The tin roof over my head gave some shelter. I grabbed the small container of pills and as I looked down my eyes quickly gazed over a photograph. 

 

The one that sat on top the fireplace. That old house in Sheldon. The garden with the picket fence, the horribly old swingset, the love seat on the porch with the coffee stains still permanently sunk into it. The constant smell of pumpkin pie and oranges. And how that day we’d decided on a picnic atop the hill behind the house. Me, mom, dad and her. Mikasa… 

 

I snapped out of my thoughts and closed it quickly. Some things are better left alone. 

 

“I got them” My monotone voice spoke “There’s water and a first aid. Here” I handed Erwin the pills. He opened the cap and gave her one. As she drank I could see two tiny lines of water rolling down. She was too weak to even drink. 

 

I crouched down next to her. Her eyes looked hazed. Gloomy and almost dead. She had a rough couple of days ahead of her. If she made it through the night. 

 

“How’re you feeling?” She gave a small smile and said she felt well enough considering. I’d learnt not to pry. So I stood up and turned my attention towards my tent. 

 

“Well, I’m turning in. I’d invite you in, but I’m not sure how I feel about her being… The way she is” Erwin had crouched down and gestured towards the water. He took a chug or two and handed it to Levi. He wiped it clean with his sleeve before taking a sip. 

 

“I understand” she spoke “It’s pretty much touch and go at this point. I really am feeling a little bit better. Thanks for the water” I nodded casually, not really listening. My eyes were on Levi. 

 

I could see even through his poker face that he wasn’t really that happy about my decision to exclude them from the shelter. But I didn’t feel like I had a choice. This was just one solution out of a hundred where both parties were safe for the night. 

 

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. I can see that you are good people. But… I can also see that you’re too good to shoot her if it comes to that. And if I did it… Well… You’d kill me. So this really is the safest way for everybody. Just for tonight. Do you have a tent?” He locked his eyes to mine. His eyebrows were furrowed. 

 

“Yeah, but there’s a huge hole in it. I don’t suppose you have a sewing kit?” I shook my head. In all reality, the only needle and thread I had were for skin, not torn tents. 

 

“Sorry… I don’t. You could just cover it up” His eyes flared. I could see total anger wasn’t far away.

 

“Yeah, if we had something to cover it up with we would have. Do you at least have a sleeping bag you could lend us?” I did have one in reserve, but I wasn’t sure I was willing to give it away. In all reality I felt I had already extended my zone of courtesy enough. I hadn’t gotten anything in return “Look, ours got burnt a couple of weeks ago. We don’t have anything else but a couple of cans of food and a crappy tent. And half of that is in the car on the ground. We’ll trade you the food for a bag” 

 

I cannot for the life of me figure out what they were thinking. They didn’t think in the long haul. Food, water, shelter. These people were totally lost. It’s like when you see a stupid person who’s too dumb for their own damn good. You just want to wrap them up in a blanket and give them hot cocoa. 

 

So, against better judgement, I let my heart take over. I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time… Compassion. I felt guilty, for trying to turn them away. Where the brain fails, the heart takes over. 

 

Maybe it was time for a change. Maybe it was time to trust. She really was hurt and so was the blonde man. But I still couldn’t trust them completely. 

 

_ I might just die tomorrow anyway _

 

Do you know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different outcome. So by not trusting them… I was by every other definition, insane. 

 

I had been trusted just like that. In DC. On top of that building. 

 

But strength comes in numbers. And fate has always played a big role in my life, weather I chose to believe it or not. 

 

“No need. I told you I wanted to join you. Which means that we are a group from now on. Leave no man behind and all that sentimental crap. Come on, let’s go. The storm’s getting worse” I turned away and stuck my head into the tent, but I heard no movement behind me. I stepped back and looked at them “Would you rather stitch your leg up out here in the rain? I have a little furnace in there. You could dry up. I think I have some vodka left to sterilize the wound. I know I said I wasn't going to let you in, but I'd rather have one potential walker than three”

 

I’ve never seen a happier group of people in my life. 

 

So we all ducked into the tent. A single bedroll out in the main area. The two others huddled up next to her. 

 

While raiding a hospital pharmacy a couple of weeks ago, I managed to find some pretty useful drugs. Local anesthesia, sterile gloves, and various other necessities. I also knew a section of the town where I hadn’t been able to raid before. It was too far to walk back before dusk. So I had settled for raiding in the closest proximity. They had a car, which meant we could bring back so much more. 

 

I put on the gloves, grabbed the syringe and filled it up a couple of milliliters before quickly digging the needle around her wound. She fliched slightly, but was otherwise still. I reached for the bottle of vodka, poured some into the wound, which she was not happy about fyi. 

 

“Sorry, it’s just so infected I had to” Her nod urged me to continue. I threaded, and began my stitching. 

 

“You learned sutures from your dad?” I nodded at the question. Levi had been quiet for a minute or two now. It seemed almost eerie how one word out of his mouth could ground me. Maybe it was the air around him, demanding respect and uttering authority. 

 

“He was a trauma surgeon. When he wasn’t around I used to watch a lot of his old surgery tapes. His name was Grisha. I couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying, but I learnt the basics. Like sutures, basic neurological checkups and stuff like that. Also the difference from a sprained and a twisted ankle” Hanji nodded in approval. The scissors cut off the end of the first suture and I moved upwards a bit. 

 

“I know how this might look” I looked up at Erwin while he spoke, temporarily pausing my work “We’re taking and not giving back… But I promise that-” I waved in front of him.

 

“No need… I’m sure you’ll give something back when you can. Somebody has to be the first to give. Saying that… I do need a favour. When the storm passes and the rain has let up, I need one of you to drive me to another part of the town. I haven’t raided that part yet, and it had a pretty big-ass hunting store and an auto repair shop right next to each other. There’s an outdoors store just next to the hunting store, as well as a police station. I can’t get there and back in the span of one day. But with a car, it’ll be a lot simpler. It’s only an hour away with a car, provided average speed” 

 

“Why only one of us?” Levi asked. I didn’t know how to answer this question without sounding creepy. The simplest answer is usually the right one. 

 

“Somebody needs to stay to look after Hanji. Just make sure she doesn’t take a turn for the worst. Just because she’s gotten some medicine it doesn’t mean she’ll pull through. It might have been too late already” Her leg tensed underneath my hand. She knew that was a possibility” Another solution would be to leave you in the car. Me and Levi will run inside, grab what we can find. If you run into trouble, just honk the horn” After some quick talking amongst the three it was decided. Hanji and Erwin would wait in the car while Levi and me went in. 

 

We’d still have to bypass the alarm. With Levi, I was confident we could do it. I still had to ask him. My work was done on the first side. Her leg tilted slightly, to allow me access with the needle. A quiet thank you was uttered. 

 

“Erwin, I need you to grab a pen and paper. Can you write with your left hand?” He shook in a definite no. I turned to Levi “Then you need to write down what we need to get. The notebook is in the corner, there’s a pen attached to it. You ready?” With pen and paper in hand he nodded. 

 

“We need; knives, lighters and matches, some gasoline, guns, new clothes, food, water, rope, water purification tablets, camping gas and stove, candles, pots and pans, some aluminum foil, compass, whistle, vitamin pills, tea, thread and needle for your tent, nylon preferably, three or four sleeping bags, a map of the city, a bucket, a tin opener, disinfectant, real one not spirits, blankets and some canteens. You got all that?” 

 

“... And some canteens. Yes. Do you want me to make two copies?” I nodded. In the meantime I realized everything was done. I poured more vodka in the wound before wrapping it with some bandages and a compressor, just for safety’s sake. 

 

“All done. If the rain has let up in the morning, we’ll be leaving at first light. Right now we should get some rest. One of you has to stay up with her, just to make sure she doesn’t die. When that person gets too tired, switch with the other. I suggest Erwin takes the first shift. You take the second” I indicated at Levi “Getting up earlier might be better than going to sleep too late. There is one sleeping bag in there, but I do have one blanket. You can have it for now. The bedroll is for Hanji. Erwin, make sure the fire doesn’t die. There’s wood underneath the tarpaulin. You might have to run more than once”

 

“How do you know my name?” He asked.

 

“I overheard it when you guys got up here” he nodded

 

Everybody agreed the first shift would go to Erwin, and Levi would grab the second. Despite knowing that she was going to be watched the entire night, I was still worried they wouldn’t be able to end her if that time did come. 

 

“I’m turning in for the night. There’s a flap right there” I pointed in Levi’s general direction before I ducked into mine and grabbed the blanket. Just for good measure I gave him my hoodie “In case you get too cold, or want a pillow. When you two switch leave it for Erwin… Hey by the way… My name is Eren. Eren Yeager” I could tell Levi wanted to thank me, but his pride probably prevented it. So Erwin did instead. 

 

“Thank you Eren… For trusting us and for letting us stay with us. You’ve done so much already. I promise, one day we’ll repay you fully” I knew they would. The take and give was what I missed the most with people. You give and you get. Most of the time anyway. 

 

“Get some rest Levi… We leave at dawn…” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't I mean? Leaving you with another cliffhanger. Well, next chapter is a little shorter but it's going to be really good =) So until next time, JA NE! XD


	7. A new dawn rises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm finally back. I am so sorry it took so long to update, but I've been busy working and all that. I hope I will have time to post the next chapter in a week or so :) I'm also thinking about starting a new series so keep an eye on my page :) without further ado, here goes

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

Just like the changes of the seasons, people change. We change our mind. We begin anew. Within seven years every cell in your body has regenerated. You are literally a different person from what you were seven years ago. 

 

Like a drop of water falling from the sky. The whether changes. Change is inevitable. My life would have been very different had I not met Eren. I would have never remembered what sincerity felt like. In everything that he does. Out of the kindness of his heart he took us in. He gave us food, shelter and warmth. He took care of us.

 

Despite his young age he had become our caretaker. This was not without consequences. As the rainy days pass on he becomes skinnier, his hair no longer glistens, he grows tired faster. All because of us. 

 

His resources aren’t enough for four people. Shelter he had plenty of, but food was another story. Because we were in Texas, rain wasn’t that much of a common occurrence. It was a blessing and a curse. With the rain came water, and with water we no longer had to go thirsty. Downside being the flooding. With the heavy rain falling down, we couldn’t go down to the car to get food. With little to no visibility, walkers could be lurking around every corner. Normally we could see them. The sky was constantly grey. 

 

But with Eren also came another side that I thought I had lost forever. Humanity, compassion, a sense of security. He had accomplished more in his time than I had in my entire life. He’d learned to trust, to help and that was more than I could say about me. I didn’t trust, I only helped the people I was closest too. 

 

When he told us he’d just recently turned eighteen I was stunned. In his eighteen years, he had done more than I had in my thirty two. With years apart and he had more to give. So within the next few days, we enjoyed each others company. We checked in on everything. The supplies, made sure the tent was secure, pushed water off the roof, Made sure the firewood wasn’t soaked and so on. 

 

But on the third day, the wood was completely soaked through. We tried heating it, but it was no use. It was getting colder for every day that went on. We tried building a little bit of a wall, to keep the water out of the tent. Sadly it just kept seeping through. With Hanji out of the danger zone, we all had to sleep at the far end of the tent and share body heat. But while she was out of the danger zone, she wasn't out of the woods yet. Eren had more than just a warm heart. His entire being radiated heat. So when I got the space just right next to him, I was happy. 

 

Because Erwin and Eren had the biggest body mass and heat, they enveloped us like a cocoon. Me and Hanji were safe. We were always warm… But Eren and Erwin… Well. 

 

Because Eren and Erwin slept closest to the walls, they got the sleeping bags. Me and Hanji shared a blanket. The flooring was cold and hard and we had no pillows.

 

So on the fourth night, Eren offered up his arm for me to sleep on. I gladly accepted. He had in return given Erwin the crumpled up hoodie to sleep on. It was old and had too many holes in it to be useful, but Eren claimed it carried significance to him. I didn’t pry. 

 

On the fifth day, Hanji’s fever spiked and she got delirious. She tried to kill Erwin once, but we had stopped her. Not that she was even close, but still. Erwin watched over her while me and Eren kept her sedated with some propofol he’d gotten a hold of. 

 

During that fifth day, the rain stopped temporarily. That gave us enough time to lift the tent and get rid of all the water inside it. The sun had yet to peek through the clouds, but the lighting was good enough to get certain tasks done. We pulled as much wood as we could into the tent, just to dry. It didn’t matter anyway. Eren was out of matches. 

 

But thanks to or hard work we managed to start fire. In the furnace the fire once again burned. Enough to cook the last can of beans we currently had at our disposal. If the rain didn’t stop and soon, we would starve to death. 

 

We went to sleep that night, rain tapping into the tin roof, thinking that this could not end well. 

 

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 

  
On the morning of the sixth day we woke up to a pleasant surprise. The rain had suddenly stopped. The world was born anew and the rain had brought a pleasant smell to the air. It smelled fresh. 

 

Eren had showed us where he had set up a makeshift shower at one end of the roof. Thanks to him each and everyone of us got a pleasant morning shower. Hanji needed it the most. 

 

Her fevers made her sweat worse than a whore in church. The caked blood surrounding her wound was washed away. She was like a new person. Sadly, because of the hard rain, the water had not yet had time to turn hot. Still, a shower with cold water was better than none at all. After one week of being cooped up in that tent we sure needed it. 

 

I turned to Eren. 

 

“So, what’s the plan? Has it changed at all since last week?” He shook his head. His wet hair sent droplets flying everywhere. 

 

“No, we still get in, grab what we need and get out as fast as we can. The wait has provided us with the perfect opportunity. Hanji now has all of her strength back. I checked the wound a couple of minutes ago and removed the stitches and everything seems fine.” Erwin and Hanji gathered around us. 

 

“So what does that mean for us? That we can raid more efficiently? Should we spread out and grab what we need?” Erwin said. I took the chance and spoke up.

 

“No… If needs would arise for somebody to save your ass in a tricky situation and there’d be no one around, not only would we lose supplies, but also another head. We need all the people we could get. If I may?” I turned to Eren. He gave me the all clear. 

 

“Thanks to Eren’s sketch of the mall, we now have a perfect idea of where everything is. The gun store is the last place we go. The foodstore should be the first. Then we move on to the outdoor store, the clothing store, and so on. We’re going to need all of us to run as fast and as quietly as we can to get the supplies back to the car. Once they’re by the car you quickly empty everything, run back with the bags and fill them up again. Rinse and repeat until we’ve gotten everything that we came for. You got the list, Eren?” 

 

“knives, lighters and matches, gasoline, guns, new clothes, food, water, rope, water purification tablets, camping gas and stove, candles, pots and pans, aluminum foil, compass, whistle, vitamin pills, tea, thread and needle (nylon preferably), three or four sleeping bags, a map of the city, a bucket, a tin opener, disinfectant, blankets and canteens.” The copies were distributed between the four of us. 

 

“Alright. If anything goes wrong we need a quick escape route. Actually, one person needs to stay by the car at all times. When one person runs, the other runs back. That way we have a zipper technique. Yeah… That’s even better. Once everything is done we go. If there are walkers outside the person by the car drives around the block one time to shake them off. If that fails, honk the horn” Eren looked through the list and decided to add walkie talkie to the list. A four way connection would be best, but we grabbed what we could, as fast as we could. 

 

“Alright. Any questions?” The plan seemed clear to everyone. But I could see some question marks arising. 

 

“I think it sounds perfect, but what if we run into some unexpected problem?” I couldn’t think of a single thing we hadn’t covered while being cooped up in that tent. During the past week we had covered every angle we could think of.

 

“What more could there be? We’ve accounted everything from alarms, to walkers and iron doors for the store. What else is there? We minimize sound and light. Which reminds me, add flashlight to the list” Eren was right. Everything was accounted for. 

 

“Yes, every aspect we could think of at the time. I’m the medic, Erwin has the gun, Levi is the brains and you… Well you’re the heart of the operation. I’m talking about people… What if we find survivors? Be it good or bad, we need to figure out what we’re going to do if we find people. Do we kill them? Do we let them join us? Do we run? I know it might seem trivial, but I think we need a plan for that as well” Hanji was right. We had accounted for the technical aspect, but totally forgotten the human factor. 

 

“We’ll just have to wait and see. If they shoot first, we return the fire. Simple as that. If something were to happen, we retreat and come up with a new strategy. Nobody wants to kill anybody, but if it gets to that, and they’re trying kill us, we have no other choice but to end their lives before they take ours. The four of us are the only ones we trust. Got it?” My plan wasn’t solid, it had some blind spots, but not everything could be planned. Some things just happened in the spur of the moment. A bullet here, a corpse there. Crazy everywhere.

 

_ Don’t drink the water _

 

I shook my head, trying to rid it of those thoughts. 

 

“Are you alright?” Eren asked politely. I retaliated with a quick ‘I’m fine’, and explained to them how we would just have to see what would happen and how to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. 

 

Hope. 

 

Consistency, the hobgoblin of little minds.  

 

“We’re all clear on the plan?” Three heads bobbed up and down “Alright, Erwin you go down first, make sure the coast is clear. Eren goes down last. Make sure you shoot if anything should happen. Alright… Let’s do this”

 

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 

_ Eren _

 

The first couple of minutes of a road trip was always the most exciting and the rest was just pure torture. Nothing was playing on the radio, and total silence haunted the car. 

 

We sat in silence, trying to prepare and to memorize the list. If not we would just have to look at it. We checked off everything we picked up. Simple as that.

 

We all had the weapons strapped to our sides, so that if we had to use them they would be easy to access, but not in the way. 

 

“So, how much further?” Levi was currently driving and I was the navigator. Luckily, just by looking through the car right next to ours, we’d found a map. It was a little torn, but apart from that it could easily be read. 

 

“I reckon a little over fifteen minutes. Hopefully less. You know that you’re driving over the speed limit?” He gazed over at me with an expression I had seen him use a little too much lately. In his left hand, a cigarette dangled out of the window. 

 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me, right? Who’s going to stop me? The cops? Well just in case you hadn’t noticed they don’t exactly intend to give you a speeding ticket. And Erwin isn't complaining. Besides him, they're all dead. They’d be much happier just chomping down on you like a thanksgiving turkey.” He flicked the cigarette to get rid of the ash. Then he took a long drag before blowing the smoke out. 

 

“Just because there are no cops it doesn’t mean that you should speed. The speed limit is there for a reason. To minimize injuries in the event of a crash. It’s a lot safer if you just slow down a little” He gave a small, almost imperceptible, chuckle.

 

“I’m an excellent driver. I’ve had my licence since I was sixteen. I know what I’m doing. Plus, what are we going to crash with out here? A racoon? Don’t worry, a zombie’s nothing. It’ll just fly to east jesus nowhere” His humor was a little bit dark and twisted, but he had a point. An SUV would be able to handle a crash with a walker. Plus, with the brittle bones, the zombie would break before the car did. 

 

I glanced over to the gas-o-meter. One third left. We wouldn’t be able to make it back on that. 

 

“Stop right up here. There’s a gas station. I want to try something” He didn’t argue. After a quick turn, I stepped into the hot, basking sunlight. It felt like an oven. 

 

I walked up to the pumps. One of them was still working perfectly, even had electricity. Levi ground his cigarette out. While he didn’t see any point in following the laws against speeding, he was at least smart enough to realize why there was a no smoking rule in and around a gas station. 

 

“Damn… We need a credit card or some cash. Without internet it won’t be able to connect to the servers needed for a transaction. We need to find-” Levi was stopped mid sentence when I pulled a couple of hundreds out of my pocket. 

 

“What? You never know when you might need gas money” Erwin, who’d been quiet up until this point, laughed. 

 

During our stop we had time to get gas and stretch our dormant legs. Hanji took a quick look at hers and deemed that she was well enough to run. Erwin was on the lookout and Levi looked at the map a couple of times to determine the best route. 

 

The money gave me a full tank, and enough for the emergency supply can in the back of the car. Once everything was filled up we pulled out and steared right onto a bigger road. 

 

“Guess you’re going to have to be our sugar daddy from now on” Hanji exclaimed. We all laughed. This was the good times. We were happy together. And we could trust each other. That’s all I wanted “Oh, I almost forgot. There’s food in the back. Lemme get a can” She turned around and grabbed two for all of us to share. And two bottles of water. If this plan failed we would still need those reserves. 

 

Hanji held while I handed Erwin a knife from the glove compartment. Since Erwin only had one arm, they had to learn to get around that somehow. Hanji was like his second arm. A crutch to lean against when things got too rough. 

 

“How long has it been since you lost your arm?” Levi’s breath hitched slightly. I realized I’d touched a sensitive subject. Hanji tried her best to stay still while he stabbed the can. After finally opening it I dropped the subject. It would be better to wait until they were ready to talk about it. 

 

After the second one was handed to me he’d finally mustered up the courage to speak. 

 

“Two months. Right around the time we’d made it to California. I got bit after a failed escape. I realized that in order to survive I would have to cut it off” I took a big chug of the soup before handing it to Levi. He was slightly more cautious of the sharp edges. 

 

“So you chopped off your own arm?” I took a swig of the water “I don’t think I’d ever be able to do that. I’d freak out and probably pass out before making a decision” He shook his head.

 

“You don’t think about it that much. You just do. For the sake of your survival. Besides, I didn’t actually do it. Levi did it before I could even react. And then he just wrapped and cauterized the wound. Not even Hanji realized what had happened until a couple minutes later. We drove away and she took care of me. They both saved my life” My first instinct was to look at Levi. He had his usual expression, but his body was slightly more tense.

 

“Yeah and you returned the favor. We’re square” I was confused, but thought really hard about the sentence. 

 

“What happened to you? square for wh-” 

 

“We’re here. Alright, game mode people. Leave the cans by your feet and get to work. And I changed my mind. First we need bags, then food. Are we clear? Get five just to be safe. Preferably bigger ones with several compartments. If you can’t, just try as hard as you can to pack efficiently. We don’t have a lot of time. Let’s try to do this under half an hour. We don’t want to spend more time inside than we have to. Since we have no flashlights we’re going to have to find some as well. Let’s go” 

 

We stepped out of that car like it was on fire. And we jogged up to the entrance. We were lucky. The front door had already been smashed. But that left another dilemma and something we had feared from the moment we stepped off that roof. 

 

There could be people lurking behind every corner. 

 

Walkers we could deal with… People… That was something totally different. We had our plan. That aside, we slowly stepped in. Thankfully shopping malls as big as this one always has a map right by the entrance. 

 

You know the one. ‘You are here’ and to get to this place you turn here and so on. We found what we were looking for the second we walked in. An outdoors store. It was right past the escalator on this floor. 

 

Our feet moved without our brains even reacting. The adrenaline was rushing so fast that it felt like I was made out of marshmallows. Fluffy, pink marshmallows. 

 

Since there was no electricity in this building, there was a slim chance the security system wasn’t active. And we were right. Stepping through the gates, Levi threw an item out, just to make sure. No alarm went off and we could go about this safely. But out of the corner of my eye I could see a walker. 

 

“Levi, watch out!” I screamed, not even thinking about the consequences. He turned to his right as quickly as he could and swiped once, just like fruit ninja. The lurkers head flew at least three feet away. That was when I knew, Levi was not a force to be reckoned with. He was probably stronger than Erwin was. I was about to tell him ‘that was close’ or some other cheesy line that you see in the movies when he turned around and grabbed my shirt.

 

“You fucking idiot” He hissed “You better hope there was only one of those in here. Otherwise you might have just woken up the entire herd!” I knew better than to argue with him. 

 

“Sorry… I wasn’t aware you’d seen it. It won’t happen again” He let go of my shirt and picked his weapon back up. Then he straightened his own shirt before turning to me with the most deadly look I have ever seen. 

 

“For all of our sakes I hope you’re right. We need to hurry. We have a lot of stuff to grab” A swift nod later the plan was set in motion. I grabbed everything of use off the shelves closest to me. And as luck would have it, I even found a walkie talkie. On the first try. I held onto it before running back to Hanji. 

 

I only had one bag on that roof. It was the emergency pack. She shoved it in quickly before all of us ran around like lost chickens. Right about now would be a nice time for a store attendant to show up. Of course I don’t mean literally. They sure as hell wasn’t going to ask what they could help you with before chewing your fucking face off. 

 

My hand found what it was looking for. A backpack meant for mountain climbing. With several compartments with a small tent already attached to it as well as a small tripod chair. 

 

Hanji grabbed it out of my hands and flung it across her back. 

 

“Alrighty then” I mustered out, still quite high on adrenaline. 

 

“Did you just… Did you just quote Ace ventura? I didn’t even know you’d seen that movie. How old were you even when that came out?” She whispered. My mind wasn’t even dealt to reply. 

 

“Let’s just keep looking. We’ve got a couple of bags here. I’m grabbing one just like it. Could you grab some knives on the next shelf?” She nodded and disappeared out of my sight for a second before returning with a big set. In it was a variety of almost every knife you could ever need. It went into the bag quickly. 

 

Levi appeared just a second later with more than enough blankets to last us for a long time, as well as a roll out mat. 

 

“What? You try sleeping on that hard floor another night” His whispers came out kind of harsh, but I didn’t look more into it than that. Next on my list was a cooking set. And I knew just where to find it. 

 

“Levi? Did you see any tents around here?” He nodded and pointed in the general direction. 

 

“Over there. The large area in the middle. Where they show off the merch” I made a quiet jog over and saw it almost instantly. And I was in luck too. The entire kit was being displayed. Saved me the trouble of having to look for the rest of the pans and variety of pots. 

 

I put it into my bag. That’s when I found two shoes poking out of the tent. The smell of rotten flesh became too much to handle. I didn’t want to kill it. A part of me wished I could just duck out and leave it be. If I did, it might get woken and kill everybody. So with a quick slash into the side of the tent, I was prepared to kill. But there was no reaction. 

 

A huge gash had been cut at the side. And I could see straight into the tent. Then I realized why there was no reaction, and I wanted to cry. 

 

A big bullet wound could be seen. Right through the head. Somebody didn’t want to turn. 

 

Was this how my family had ended? Alone somewhere, deciding that life wasn’t worth living. I found myself preferring that over them walking around, aimlessly, eating people. 

 

“Eren! What the hell are you doing?” Hanji snapped me out of my thoughts. I didn’t even have time to answer before she saw it. She gave a quick nod. 

 

Pushing the feeling of impending doom away, I got back to the task at hand. 

 

It couldn’t be more than a few minutes later that Hanji had run back and Erwin had showed up, when we decided that we had gotten everything we could from the store. 

 

We stepped back out into the main area. Erwin had been gracious enough to check beforehand where the food store was located. The mall had two. The closest was just a few doors away. 

 

Once we reached the door, the most awful smell hit my nostrils. Rotten food and flesh. Not only meat from the half open freeze boxes. No… More than that. There was definitely walkers in here somewhere. Be it dead or alive, caution was of the utmost importance. 

 

“Alright, we have to be careful… Hope for the best, prepare for the worst” With those words, we set off trying to find everything salvageable. The shelves were all but empty. Not many cans were left standing. Nonetheless, we grabbed what we could. 

 

Our plan was working perfectly. We had what we came here for. 

 

“I’ll be right back. I just have to grab something” Levi uttered. Before I could protest and tell him to stick to the plan, he was off like a bullet. Erwin could sense it too. He was just as scared.

 

The windows weren’t clean enough to let a sufficient amount of light through. We could no longer see him. Not but a minute later we head a chop and something dropping. The first walker of the store had fallen. 

 

We turned the corner and saw him running back with a walker behind him. He threw himself onto the floor and slid the rest of the way to us. Erwin swung the wrench quickly. Killing it. Levi stood. 

 

“Good job” He proceeded to load soaps and other sanitary objects into the bag. Among them, shampoos and body wash. Body butter and toothbrushes could also be seen as well as some toothpaste. He really thought about the things we didn’t. 

 

When we deemed the store thoroughly raided, we bolted. 

 

On the left, nothing but darkness, on the right the exit. 

 

Among the darkness, a tiny flicker of light could be seen. With the newly obtained flashlight, I shone into the dark. 

 

“Hey guys… There’s a pharmacy over here!” My whisper turned into a quiet shout. Levi hushed me. 

 

“I thought I told you- Hey! Get back here! This was not part of the plan” My brain went into overdrive. 

 

I ran inside the gates.

 

And I grabbed everything I could. The medicines would be enough to make the smallest of colds more bearable. Instead of Erwin poking his head through the door, a slightly out of breath, Hanji came jogging. Her bag was now empty. So I filled it with various items. 

 

“So when did we decide that this was part of the plan?” My hands reached for a couple of first aid kits and a bottle of cough medicine. 

 

“I’m sorry. I just figured the more stuff, the better. Right?” Levi made the quickest decision to help me. 

 

Sadly there is only so much you could get from the general area of a pharmacy. 

 

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 

_ Levi _

 

My hands fiddled with the lock. Past this door, an entire room filled with antibiotics and other precious pills could be found. 

 

My mind was repeating the same thing over and over… Stick to the plan, stick to the plan.

 

Fuck the plan. We were doing this. We were getting these items. 

 

With that Hanji wouldn’t have to worry. We would be better prepared for the future as well. In case something like this ever happened again. 

 

A few aisles down I could hear how Hanji and Eren bickered about which gauze and bandages to grab. Typical Hanji. Just had to go for the best. But that was surgeons for you. Always had to have the best. Damn perfectionists. Well, being a programmer I knew a thing or two about being a perfectionist. 

 

“Hanji, Eren get over here.” Hanji came first with Eren in tow. “I need you to go in first, and pick out what you think we could possibly need. And remember, quickly” I still had to open the door with a couple of hair pins I had come across in the previous aisle. 

 

“Where did you learn to pick locks?” I ignored Eren’s question completely. Hanji answered that it really didn’t matter right now and that she would tell him when they got out. 

 

The door unlocked with a small click… 

 

And the nosiest alarm I had ever heard. 

 

“Shit” I screamed “Okay, new plan. Get it there! I’ll guard the door. Eren, you stay here with me” Everyone got to work. Around the corner, running could be heard. We really were shit out of luck now. 

 

“I’m not sure about this, Levi” Eren screamed, trying to outsound the noise “Let’s bolt” I grabbed his arm and with a determined shout I told him to stay put. 

 

The first walker came around the corner. I chopped away. Behind that came another two. And then another one after that. They were never ending. Hanji emerged, faster than the wind. 

 

I can’t remember how we got out of there alive. But when my mind came to I heard shouting. I whipped around. Erwin and Hanji were there, safe and sound. I was about to turn to Eren to tell him to shut his damn door. 

 

But Eren wasn’t there. 

 

Eren wasn’t there…

 

Eren was gone.

 


	8. Like there's no tomorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back with some more material! Don't forget to leave a kudos, that always helps. And as per usual, enjoy!

**Previously:**

 

**The first walker came around the corner. I chopped away. Behind that came another two. And then another one after that. They were never ending. Hanji emerged, faster than the wind.**

 

**I can’t remember how we got out of there alive. But when my mind came to I heard shouting. I whipped around. Erwin and Hanji were there, safe and sound. I was about to turn to Eren to tell him to shut his damn door.**

 

**But Eren wasn’t there.**

 

**Eren wasn’t there…**

 

**Eren was gone.**

 

**_And now…_ **

 

_ Levi  _

 

I could have sworn my heartbeat could be heard, echoing through vast valleys and from every corner of the world. 

 

The thumping and the adrenaline… It made me feel like my head had frozen solid. Even this, the hottest day yet, I could have sworn it had frozen to solid ice. 

 

Eren was gone....

 

He didn’t make it…

 

Eren was fucking gone.

 

“Hanji, where the fuck is he?” My voice cracked and my tears threatened to fall. She gave a panicked should back. 

 

“I don’t fucking know… I could have sworn he was right behind me… HE WAS! HE WAS RI-” 

 

In the next second the door flew open. 

 

“Fucking drive!” And my foot hit the pedal. I knew that voice. 

 

I drove through a fucking army of walkers to get out of the neighbourhood. Once out on the main road I allowed myself to get a quick look to the side. And I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat. He was there! He was fucking there! 

 

“Eren! You’re alive. We thought we lost you” Hanji threw her arms across the headrest and almost strangled the poor boy. But she felt exactly what I was feeling. Yet not at all…

 

See, for Hanji the feeling was relief, joy, and just over the top with everything at once, just like me. But there was one thing that she didn’t feel. 

 

A lovers relief. 

 

Over the past week my feelings had changed for the boy with wanderlust in his soul and the purity in his eyes. His soul was so beautiful and his heart, the biggest I’ve ever seen. 

 

Though I didn’t dare act on it and never told anyone, it didn’t mean that my heart wasn’t yearning for his. I was in love. 

 

The tears I had dreaded would fall out of sadness instead fell for relief. He was safe, right here next to me. My vision fogged up and I had to stop the car. So I pulled into a McDonald's parking lot. I couldn’t physically drive, my whole body frozen. My eyes, staring into the distance. And the tears kept falling. I didn’t even sob, my muscles didn’t even react. 

 

My door reached for the handle and I stepped out of the car. I thought I was going to vomit. My stomach was in a twist. But I couldn’t. So I just stood there coughing and breathing quickening. This feeling was something I had never felt before. It was something that I hoped I would never have to feel again. 

 

“Levi, are you okay?” I could hear Eren’s voice in the distance somewhere. In the furthest part of my mind, I thought to myself… I have never been this happy in my life. His hand rested reassuringly on my back. For only a second, one single stroke brought me back to reality. It felt as if though I was drowning. My tears falling rapidly. 

 

I didn’t even know when my arms had flown around his neck. They just did. His shoulder was so close. I could smell him. Apart from the sweat and the dirt there was one smell that outshone the rest. The smell of Eren, his sweet smell. It smelled like home. 

 

My pride told me to let go, but something else told me to hold on for dear life and never let go. I let my tears fall freely as I pulled him closer. I say, to hell with pride. He’s right here, in my arms, so alive I almost forgot that he almost died a few minutes earlier. 

 

His hand rested on my shoulder and his arm held my waist tightly. And he pulled me closer. 

 

There’s a reason I don’t cry around people. The sounds I make, the snot, the tears and how I had a tendency to never stop. It was never ending. The whole world was on pause. 

 

The way he felt pulled against me… It was everything I had ever wanted. I didn’t know it before I met him, but this was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. 

 

I knew that Hanji and Erwin were watching, probably stunned as hell. But I could not bring myself to care that this was out of character for me. Once in awhile, I just broke down. Not often, mind you… But enough. 

 

I never wanted this feeling to end. Never did I want to let go. But something else caught my attention. A voice speaking sadly. 

 

“Levi… He’s bit” And my whole world came crashing down again… Like shattering glass, my perfect illusion was shattered. I pulled away slowly. Hoping that it would just be one of Hanji’s cruel jokes. But when my eyes met Eren’s, I knew that she was telling the truth. 

 

Like glass shattering, my whole world was falling apart. 

 

Time and space ceased to exist. Outside of this moment, there was nothing. No walkers, no apocalypse, no bites. 

 

In another universe, me and Eren could have happened. 

 

Somebody once told me that you meet your soulmate in the most curious ways. You never know when or where, but you just know that some day, life as you know it will change forever. 

 

Outside of this moment, there was no right or wrong… There was only darkness. 

 

I pulled back… 

 

Because this could never happen. I would never again hold him, I would never get to kiss him or make love to him. I could never tell him about my day, or ask about his. There would be no sweeping declaration of love.

 

“I-It’s true, isn’t it?” I didn’t even recognise my own voice. He couldn’t even look me in the eyes. He averted his gaze. And then he closed his beautiful green eyes. The eyes I would never see again. Tears came rolling down his cheeks. 

 

“Yeah… Yeah. I’m sorry” There was no need for more. He wasn’t going back with us. He was never going to see another sunrise. Never feel the sun on his face or hear the rain pattering into the pavement. In his opposite shoulder, teeth marks were visible. 

 

“How do you want to do this, Eren?” He shook his head. I knew Erwin was there somewhere, and Hanji... but… It was like me and Eren were in a bubble. All I could see was him. 

 

“I don’t know… I never thought it would end like this. I didn’t have a plan. I guess… I guess you should do it fast and without hesitation…” He looked over at Erwin “I just have one request….” Erwin nodded. 

 

“I want to die on top of that roof. When you’ve… you know… You leave me there” With saddened eyes, he gave his consent. 

 

So Erwin drove. Off into the sunset. 

 

The car ride back was the most unbearable thing I had ever experienced. So I told him… I told him that no one should ever die alone… He lay down in my arms, and I wrapped them around him. My tears kept falling. 

 

There was no stopping it. I didn’t care how I looked. I just kept on crying. 

 

He tried to soothe me with his words. Telling me that it was okay. Telling me that he was okay with it. Even though he only became eighteen he had seen enough of the world. His wandering had come to an end, but that he was happy he’d met us. That Hanji was one of the funniest people he’d ever met. That Erwin was the strongest and that I was the most loyal person in the world. That we were his family. That we were there for him when it counted and that we were the kindest. 

 

We allowed him that last wish. That we didn’t turn him away. 

 

I couldn’t speak any longer. My voice failed me. And I feared that if I did speak, I would say the wrong things. That I would yell at him, telling him that he was an idiot. 

 

Time came when we arrived back at the roof. And I prayed to every God I could think of for mercy. To let him live. To shake me out of this nightmare my life had become. 

 

But I knew that just like the leaf falling down the tree, that everything living must die some day. 

 

I tried to fight it. I tried to slow it down. Climbing up the ladder took longer than usual. Everyone was tired and sad. Nothing would ever be the same without him around. And life would be unbearable. 

 

My eyes finally saw the edge of the ladder. And across the horizon the most beautiful hue of pink and orange I had ever seen. This was a beautiful day to die. Right here and right now, is the perfect moment. 

 

My foot connected with the roof. I stood, slumped forward with hand to my mouth. And I fell to my knees. In front of me, he fell, and his arms pulled me in. And I wouldn’t let go. I knew that I would have to eventually. 

 

For now, all I could see behind my closed eyes were the countless nights we had spent talking, the way he smiled when I told one of my shitty jokes, the way his eyes glistened. In a couple of minutes, I would never see his eyes again. I would never speak to him. Never hear his voice. 

 

He pulled back too soon. And I just sat there. Looking at his beautiful face. His teary eyes tinted red. His ruffled hair and his plush lips quivering. And all I could think was

 

‘Perfection’ 

 

This was just a cruel, sick joke that someone had pulled. In any second now, Hanji and Eren would laugh and I would be okay. I would never have to see him die. And life would go back to being perfect. 

 

But that was all gone. The future I could have had with him, was gone. 

 

Life goes on, without really doing so. I was stuck in this moment forever. 

 

“Eren… I- I’m sorry. But we have to do it now. We have to… I don’t even know what to say” Erwin stumbled on his own words, and my ears caught the sound of hesitation in his voice. Hanji sobbed hysterically in one corner, me in the other and Eren somewhere in between. Erwin was supposed to be the calm and collected one. And even he couldn’t speak. 

 

“I know…” When Erwin lifted his gun my mind went into overdrive. I screamed and threw my arms around him. 

 

“NO, PLEASE I BEG OF YOU. DON’T DO THIS… PLEASE DON’T” I felt as if my heart was going to stop beating. I couldn’t imagine a world where he didn’t exist. 

 

I kept screaming. As if it was the only thing I knew how to. That and crying filled the air. Hanji got so startled that she fell apart completely. She too, threw her arms around him. 

 

This was everything I had ever dreaded. 

 

“It’s okay, Levi… I-It’s okay” His words didn’t even sound real anymore “I know that it hurts… If it hurts too much to end me, just leave. I’m not asking you to stick around and watch me die. And if you really need me to, I’ll go. I’ll leave the roof to you guys. You’d have enough supplies to last a couple of months, I hope. And if it doesn’t, we did a bang-up job raiding that mall… Rinse and repeat, remember?” 

 

I couldn’t breath. Air could not reach my lungs. But eventually I had to take a breath. And I felt dead inside. As if though a part of my heart had been ripped from my chest. 

 

“I don’t think we could live up here without mourning. This place carries too many bad memories… But it also has a lot of meaning to you. And you’re right Eren… I don’t think that we could actually do it. We can’t end your life. I’m leaving your gun and the tent. We’ll only grab what is ours and be on our way” Erwin packed up what belongings we had left up here and threw them across his shoulder. 

 

Hanji got up… And so did Eren. He pulled me up with him. 

 

He gave her a hug… But she couldn’t handle more than a second. Her lips landed on his forehead giving it a quick kiss. 

 

He gave her the most amazing smile he could muster. She let her arm fall on his shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze before turning away. 

 

“I’m going to miss you, Eren” He nodded and under his breath a voiceless ‘you too’ could barely be heard. 

 

When he turned around and looked at me. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I threw my arms around his shoulders. 

 

My lips met his for just a second before pulling back. But he wouldn’t let me. His lips didn’t let go of mine for a good fifteen seconds. When he pulled back I uttered the words I’d wanted to say the entire time. 

 

“I love you” He tried holding back the tears, but he couldn’t any longer. 

 

“I love you too…” When I got off this roof, I would at least know that some part of him would always be carried in my heart. 

 

He let go of me for a second before his hands reached around his neck. At the end of a chain, a key had rested on top of his heart this entire time. Then he went around the tent. It wasn’t but a couple of seconds later that he came back with a box. He gave it to me and hung the key around my neck. 

 

“I want you to have this. So that you can always remember me… But please… Don’t open it until you’re a little ways down the road. That way you can’t turn around. I don’t want you to see me like one of them… I want you to remember the good times. Don’t let this outshadow that”

 

He gave me a quick kiss before Erwin pulled me down with him. By the last handle I could hear a song so beautiful the Gods would cry. 

  
  


” _ In the dead of the night _

_  in the dead of the dark _

_  Out of your sights _

_  They appear, the dead, the herds _

_  And they’re singing the songs of a new world” _

 

I was pulled into eternal darkness. And so I got into the car. Erwin drove away. We didn’t stop until dawn. And the crying never ceased for a moment. 

 

Not until every drop was spilled did I open the box. A single picture lay at the bottom… 

 

And I clutched it to my heart… 

 

I held onto it for dear life… 

 

Like there was no tomorrow. 

  
  
  
  
  



	9. Reunions of sorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I urge you all to go back and read the story all over again... I've added a chapter I missed posting the first time around XD So hopefully it'll make a little more sense now ^^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, back again, I suppose. I just realized the importance of checking your work. I had missed posting one of the chapters. Could explain the weird feedback I've been getting XD Anyways, here comes the next chapter. Enjoy my little zombies! ^^

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

_ Two years later _

_ Levi _

 

In this world… We take everything for granted. We just expect that nothing will ever change and that life will stay the same, day in and day out. When reality comes knocking on our doors and life as we know it is turned upside down, we turn a blind eye to what is happening. 

 

Children in Africa were starving, and all the first world could think of was ‘I want a new phone’ or ‘My computer broke down so now I have to get a new, better version of it’. 

 

At some point you have to wake up… And see the reality. First world problems, are not really problems at all. People are not immune to reality. It’s when people are at an all time low, that we are open to the possibilities. Our inner portal is open. 

 

And so, life goes on whether you want it to or not. 

 

_ One and a half years ago _

 

_ “Levi… You have to get over it. He’s gone” _

 

_ “WE JUST LEFT HIM! DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO MOVE ON AFTER THAT?”  _

 

_ Hanji had her bags packed. Beside her Erwin stood with an iron clad expression. _

 

_ “I’m sorry, Levi. But we have to. There is no alternative… Whether you come with us or not” But I saw in Hanji’s eyes that she wasn’t going with him. Not after everything that happened during the past six months.  _

 

_ She wasn’t going to just leave me.  _

 

_ And so in the dead of the night, she nudged me awake. And we woke Erwin. We told him how we weren’t going with him. And I could see a part of him break, the way I was broken.  _

 

_ But he said he understood. He said he was okay with it.  _

 

_ I knew he wasn’t.  _

 

_ But Erwin was never one to force somebody.  _

 

_ With one last kiss, Hanji and I were on our way. To where, we had no idea.  _

 

_ After over ten years together, sorrow broke them up.  _

 

_ And we never stopped walking _

 

**_Now…_ **

 

These memories were part of my life. They appeared all the time, wanted or not, they popped into my mind like a jack in the box. I had vowed to myself to honor his memory, but it felt as if though I had only sullied it. 

 

Behind me, light footsteps could be heard. Dragging her feet behind her, she came to an abrupt stop. 

 

“Are you ready to go?” My head gave an affirmative nod. I stood up straight, picked up my bag and put it on my back. 

 

A year and a half had passed by since we had seen Erwin. In the middle of the night we had quickly divided what we had between the three of us. The bigger things had gone to me and Hanji, the tent, the bags and the outdoors kitchen. He’d gotten the car and half of the food. Everything was divided equally. So when we walked away, there were no hard feelings. 

 

That’s what we had hoped. Of course we knew that his chances of survival were slim, at best. But somewhere out there we both hoped he was alive. 

 

He had been such a big part of our lives and to just leave him with nothing was just like kicking somebody who was already on the ground. It was just bad sportsmanship. 

 

“Hey, are you hungry?” While I wanted to say no, my stomach grumbled loudly “Don’t you both speak at the same time. Let’s just stay a little while longer. Just for sustenance though. Then we need to get going” 

 

If there was one thing I learned from the boy with the emerald eyes it was to always stick to the high ground. Never let somebody or something get the advantage of tracking you. You couldn’t deny the view though. 

 

Just thinking about him made my heart want to reach out. Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night, thinking that it had all been a nightmare. But when I look upon Hanji’s sleeping face… I knew that it had happened. Sometimes I cry, and sometimes I lull myself into a dreamless sleep, just feeling the hours pass by. 

 

I miss him. I miss Erwin. I miss what used to be there. 

 

But most of all I miss Eren.

 

I spent one week with that boy. But in the end, one week or ten years, didn’t matter. I loved him. And I was true to my word. He always had a special place in my heart. 

 

I couldn’t help but to regret not telling him sooner. My feelings. And I wish I had been more tentative towards him, instead of being a jerk all the time. 

 

But through it all, I did remember the good times. That week in the tent when the rain wouldn’t stop falling was one of the best weeks of my life. Six days… 

 

“Sorry… We don’t have anything else. That reminds me, the food stock is running a little low” She said while handing me half a can of beef soup “We could try to hunt. I saw a couple of deer a couple of minutes ago” I shook my head. 

 

“We don’t have a fridge. It’d be a waste. Let’s just get some cans of whatever. Even apples from a tree would do” She nodded in agreement. Yes that would be better indeed. 

 

_ “I love you too”  _

 

I dropped the can. It hit the floor with a small thump. Most of it was empty anyway. Only a small square of beef left at the bottom. 

 

_ ‘I don’t want to hear these things right now. Just please don’t do this to me brain’  _

 

“Are you alright?” I stood quickly. I made sure to stomp into the ashes to make sure the fire was dead. Then just for good measure I kicked it again. 

 

“Yeah” I grabbed the bag “Let’s go… We have to find a better shelter for the night” 

 

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 

The car was cold. That’s all I could describe it as. Cold and with leather seats that kept screeching whenever you turned. It was basically protesting. 

 

Hanji had gotten the back seats. I had taken the one behind the wheel. It wasn’t comfortable, but I at least hoped that I could fall asleep. 

 

My eyes closed, too tired to stay open. 

 

“Levi” 

 

“Yeah” I replied in a hushed tone. 

 

“Do you ever miss them? I mean of course you miss them, but… Do you think we made the right choice? Leaving them behind like that?” 

 

I honestly had no fucking clue. We couldn’t do anything at the roof. He was already doomed to die. But Erwin… 

 

“I can’t say, really. Maybe… Maybe not. Erwin at least had a fighting chance. He could have asked us to stay. But he didn’t. I don’t think we’ll ever know what happened to him in the end. All we can hope is that it was quick and painless” 

 

She shifted a little bit. 

 

Her short shorts revealed a scar across her calf. He had stitched it up. 

 

He had taken us in, and I give thanks for that every day. 

 

Not for a moment during these past years had I been ungrateful for it. 

 

_ “I love you too”  _

 

That phrase repeated itself like a song stuck on repeat. 

 

“Yeah… I really hope that he made it. That he found somebody to team up with. You know… So he isn’t alone” She said “He always hated being alone. He said it made him feel insignificant and small. Like the whole world was crashing down” 

 

_ Like broken glass _

 

“I know what you mean. He always said that you were his greatest choice in life. Meeting you was the craziest and best thing that he ever could have done… Neither you nor I can tell what happened. I truly do hope that he made it, though” 

 

She hummed. I could tell by the expression on her face that she was thinking about him. Whenever she thought about him nowadays, her brows furrowed and her eyes became sorrowful. Almost hollow and dead. 

 

She bit her lips. She always did that when she was sad. Maybe to fight back the tears. Maybe trying to remember what his lips felt like against hers. Who could say really? 

 

I didn’t pry. I knew to leave it alone… At least until she spoke about it. 

 

“It’s late… Try to get some sleep. We head out in the morning” 

 

My eyelids grew too heavy and I let myself succumb to the darkness. A single phrase repeating itself. 

 

_ “I love you too”  _

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 

“LEVI! FUCKING WAKE UP!” My eyes snapped open. In the distance a car could be heard. But when I looked ahead on the road, all I could see was a big ass military tank, heading straight for us. 

 

I bolted, out of the door. I grabbed Hanji… 

 

We didn’t make it far before another tank blocked our path. 

 

“FUCK!” My throat jolted in pain. My shouting had upset my vocal cords. I really needed to stop fucking smoking. 

 

We tried running sideways when we realized we were surrounded. To our left, soldiers on foot, on our right, soldiers in jeeps. They didn’t wear any standard military jackets. 

 

Instead they were beige with roses decorating both arms. An unusual pattern. 

 

“Targets secure, initiating contact” The sound of a com radio crackling could be heard behind us. With our backs to each other we got ready for a fight. 

 

Of course there would be none. More like a slaughter. They outnumbered us by the doussin. But the fighter in me told me to never give up. Until my last dying breath, I would fight for my life and the little I had left.

 

I would protect her with everything I had. For all the good and all the bad out there, I would fight. 

 

“Lower your weapons and we’ll do the same!” Some tall guy with a mustache and crooked nose, screamed from atop of the tank. He swiftly jumped down. Despite being over six feet tall, he still landed gracefully. 

 

“Like hell we will! You’re just going to kill us!” He approached with utmost caution. My finger reached for the trigger. 

 

“Okay, calm down. We’re not here to harm you in any way. If you would just lower your weapons we can talk without the fear of anybody getting hurt. We will only fire if you fire first” A dry laugh escaped my throat. 

 

“Yeah, right. That all sounds very good in theory, but fifty bucks say when I lower my weapon you kill us” His time to laugh I guess. It was a warm and sane laughter. 

 

“Oh, please. Why would we kill you? You have nothing we need. What would we kill you for? Just holster your gun for now. We can keep this distance. If you’re still not interested after our chat, we’ll open up a path and let you go on your merry way. Please… Just hear us out” I was just about to issue a threat before Hanji nudged me. She holstered her gun. Since she was an excellent judge of character I could do nothing but trust her instincts. 

 

“Good” The man said without changing the tone, nor his expression really “Now that that’s taken care of let me introduce myself. My name is Mike Zacharias. I represent Wall Rose, a safety zone just a couple of miles away from here. We have been watching you for a while, trying to find the appropriate time to approach you” Warning bells set off in my mind. Hanji kept me from drawing my gun. Not that I wasn’t tempted. 

 

“No, no, that doesn’t sound creepy at all, thank you.” He chuckled. His beard was all but stubble. His hands big and calloused. 

 

“Well, in reality it isn’t supposed to be. A couple of weeks ago you got a little too close to comfort to one of our supply zones. So we started watching you, just to make sure that you weren’t taking something you weren’t supposed to take “The man paused for a moment before continuing “During this past week we have seen some remarkable things. How you’re able to avoid confrontation and minimize contact with zombies is altogether, very astonishing. I’ve come with an offer” 

 

“Yeah? And what’s that?” I only asked for courtesy's sake. In all actuality, I knew what he was going to ask. I wasn’t sure how Hanji would react. At this point, everything was up to her.

 

“I’ve come here, to your territory, to ask you to join us. We always need able men and women. The more people that join us, the stronger we get… So I just ask you to listen to my offer” He took a deep breath “I offer you food, shelter and a home to stay in. In exchange for hard work. That way we could both benefit greatly. I don’t want to rush your decision, but we’re easy targets and sitting ducks out here in the open. We need an answer” 

 

Hanji was about to answer when I stopped her. And I asked him exactly what the love of my life had asked. 

 

“What was your profession? Before all this?” 

 

He looked stunned. But nonetheless he gave me a sincere answer. 

 

“I-I used to be a cop” And just like that I unholstered my gun and slid it across the asphalt. 

 

“Alright… Hanji” She did the same. If he wasn’t stunned before, he certainly was now “Well… Are you all talk or are you going to bring us with you?” A smile danced across his features. 

 

“Yes… Of course. You can either ride in the tank or the jeep. Your call” We followed him into the tank. Mainly because he was the only one I felt like I could put some amount of trust into. 

 

I climbed the ladder and jumped into the tank as quickly as I could. 

 

“Alright, Erwin… Of to Rose” My head whipped around faster than the wind. And it was confirmed. 

 

Steering the tank was none other than Erwin fucking Smith… 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so maybe it's just not what it looks like in the summary. Well at least Erwin's back. Surprise, surprise people! 
> 
> Hopefully the next chapter will be in soon enough :) I've just started a sequel to my story Zombieland over on fanfiction.net. Check it out. It's the Naruto fandom everybody! SasuSaku has always been one of my favorite ships! Also make sure to read the first part. One of the later chapters is a little bit fucked up but I'm getting around to fixing that. Anyways the pen name's Foambanana. Don't ask, it's not worth knowing. 
> 
> Anyway, see you next time little zombies! ;)


	10. I follow rivers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the story continues...

**S I N G I N G _ T H E _ S O N G _ O F _ A _ N E W _ W O R L D**

 

**Previously:**

 

**I climbed the ladder and jumped into the tank as quickly as I could.**

 

**“Alright, Erwin… Of to Rose” My head whipped around faster than the wind. And it was confirmed.**

 

**Steering the tank was no other than Erwin fucking Smith…**

 

**_And now_ **

 

Meeting somebody that you thought was dead… Was like emerging from a surface of water you had no idea you were under. Breaking through, was like breathing for the first time. 

 

And then the magic and the excitement of the moment, wears off. 

 

“What the hell?” Erwin turned around quickly, giving a weak smile. 

 

Beneath that smile I could see so much more. Sorrow, guilt… Forgiveness. And at last some relief. Happiness over the fact that we had made it. That we were alive. 

 

“Well hello to you too, Levi. Long time no see. How’ve you been?” Before I could answer a voice came through the com radio. 

 

_ “Approaching first checkpoint. Initiate contact. Tank 1, do you copy?”  _

 

“I read you loud and clear, initiating contact with tower now” Mike answered. He spoke some incoherent words into a microphone. 

 

“Well?” Erwin spoke “How’ve you been? Tell me everything” Hanji stepped up next to him. 

 

“Good… Well most of the time. A little rocky in the beginning, but nothing we couldn’t manage… So how’s everything going with you?” Erwin shrugged. 

 

Outside we passed people on top of a couple of containers stacked on top of each other. They opened a passage for us to go through. Erwin continued down the path. 

 

“Not too bad, not too bad at all actually. After we separated, I got picked up almost right away. Been running with this crew ever since” Neither one of us gave a reply. It wasn’t until Mike started talking again that we proceeded with our conversation. And I just had one question in mind. Something I had wanted to ask. 

 

“Did we make the right call?” I asked “Leaving you, I mean?” 

 

It wasn’t an easy question. So many possible answers could present itself. So much unwanted information for my brain to store. In the corner of my eye, I could see Hanji tense up.

 

“I honestly don’t know how life would have looked if I’d gone with you. If I had gone with you, you would have resented me so much for leaving him on t-” 

 

“Don’t you fucking dare, Erwin! Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare!” Mike turned his attention back to us. His hand instinctively reached for his gun. But Erwin raised his hand. Mike went back to his business, but didn’t let me out of his sights. 

 

“I’m sorry… But you-” 

 

I slammed my hand into the wall of the tank. 

 

“Stop talking Erwin or so help me God, I will jump out of this tank and run as far away from this place as fucking possible!” His lips formed a narrow line on his face. Silence was broken by Mike once again talking. 

 

“Copy, com tower. ETA five minutes” After uttering those words, communication stopped. For a single minute, the only sound that could be hear was the bands hitting gravel. 

 

“When we arrive within the walls you’ll be checked for bites, just as a precaution. Then you’ll be taken to judge Zackly. He’ll make the final decision regarding you staying or not” My head whipped around. 

 

“So you mean to tell me that even though you just had to pick us up and bring us with you, there is a chance you’ll send us away” He sighed deeply his arms now crossed across his chest. 

 

“Yes… He’s the one making the final calls. I only make a quick assessment. If he deems you unworthy of staying, we’ll send you on your way with some supplies and necessities. It’s not like we’re shoving you back outside with nothing. There’ll be enough for you to survive a couple of weeks, provided you use the supplies efficiently.” I thought about it for almost a minute before Erwin spoke. 

 

“We’re here. Has the ground team taken care of everything?” Mike gave an affirmative hum. In front of us, two huge gates opened. Surrounding the tank were people with heavy artillery and armor. Once past the gates, they followed quickly behind. 

 

Reality struck, as it usually does, when we were asked to step outside. 

 

The air hit my face and you could smell the food cooking. The birds were happily chirping away, not a care in the world. 

 

The first impression of the place was awe. Around a huge fountain, kids were playing, dogs were barking and couples were walking hand in hand. A modern day utopia within a broken world. 

 

This was a perfectly functioning society. I knew this must have happened early on. The containers were old and rusty yet sturdy, the vines had overgrown certain parts of some walls, and everything was in desperate need of a new paint job. 

 

Despite all of it, this place was cleaner and filled with more flora than I had seen in almost three years. This place was so vibrant and filled with life. 

 

‘He would have loved it’ 

 

And just like that, I broke free from my thoughts. 

 

I could see some people approaching us with something in hand. They looked like scanners from a Wall-mart. 

 

“I’ll go first, just to put you at ease” He bent down a little bit and offered up his neck. Because of his massive size it was necessary. The redheaded girl gave a polite smile with something quickly snapped in and out. 

 

“How’ve you been today? No bites I hope?” She spoke. There was a small beep “Nope, you’re clear” 

 

“Well to answer your question Petra” She proceeded with Hanji “I’m doing just fine. Still haven’t left that husband of yours, have you?” She playfully swatted at him. 

 

“Of course not, Oluo is the love of my life, you know that… You’re clear” Hanji stepped to the side and she gave me the all clear to approach. 

 

The metal felt cold against my neck and then there was a quick sting. 

 

“I do fucking hope that wasn’t the same needle everyone else got!” I didn’t mean for it to sound so threatening. She just laughed. 

 

“No of course not. It switches every time I load it… You’re clear too. Alright, if you would please follow Erwin and Mike, they’ll take you to judge Zackly” 

 

“Judge… As in an actual judge?” I rubbed the spot where the needle had pricked me. Erwin nodded. 

 

And that was that… For now. We followed quickly in their footsteps. Right up ahead was a giant building, a mansion. Must have belonged to someone special. It looked old, but it was none the less, massive. 

 

“I know what you’re thinking” Erwin said. 

 

“I highly doubt it” I retaliated. 

 

“You’re thinking about how every building looks new except for this one… And you’re right. At first the only thing around here was the trees and this mansion. After clearing the surrounding areas, houses were built to accommodate our growing population. The head architect is named Eld Jinn. If Zackly decides you’re fit enough to stay, you’ll no doubt see him around town with his wife, Alayne. How am I doing?” 

 

I make a snarky comment on him being a smartass and he returned the favor by saying that _ I _ was indeed, the smartass. 

 

“Alright, behind this door is Zackly’s office. I only ask of you to be polite, honest and to not raise your voice or threaten him in any way. We know you’ve had it rough on the outside, but that is no excuse to treat him badly. Understood?” Mike was the kind of person that demanded respect above all else. So I gave him the most sincere ‘understood’ that I could muster. Hanji did the same. 

 

“Well alright then, follow me” He knocked once. When a muffled ‘come in’ was heard, he stepped into the room. If the foyer was impressive wait until you saw his office. 

 

“Fuck me sideways” I muttered under my breath. The ceiling was covered in beautifully detailed art. It looked like a second sistine chapel in here. 

 

“I’m assuming that is an expression and not an actual request” I let my eyes wander to the man behind the desk. He wasn’t what I was expecting at all. 

 

Grey hair, eyes wary, wrinkles from old age and a beard. His hair was neatly slicked backwards and his shirt was decorated with small, almost imperceptible, patterns. 

 

“No, sir” I cleared my throat “I was just impressed by the art.” He smiled. 

 

“Well, I can’t really take credit for that. It was like that when we got here… Now, let’s get down to business. I’m a busy man.” He grabbed a pen and paper “State your full names” 

 

“Hanji Katherine Zöe” He asked her how her last name was spelled “It’s German, I think” He swatted at her, basically telling her to stop talking. I didn’t really like how he was treating her. Nonetheless, when he looked over to me I was prepared to answer truthfully. 

 

“Levi Kimball Ackerman” Instead of scribbling anything down he gave me a worried expression. 

 

“Any relation to Kenny the ripper Ackerman?” And there it was. 

 

I lied… The first question I was asked… and I lied. 

 

“No. Never heard of him” 

 

His head rested on top of his hands for a second before scribbling something down. 

 

“Well alright then… Now, since you two followed Mr. Ackerman and Miss. Zöe in here, I assume you’ll vouch for them?” His question was directed to Mike and Erwin. 

 

“Yes, sir” Erwin quickly answered “I’ve known Levi and Hanji for over ten years now. We attended the same college. They’re both good friends of mine” After some additional scribbling, he turned his undivided attention towards Mike. 

 

“Yes, I’ll vouch for them… After agreeing to join us, they immediately handed over their weapons, without hesitation” Zackly grew suspicious. I could easily tell. 

 

“And why, pray tell, would they do that?” Mike chuckled. 

 

“After asking me my previous profession, Mr. Ackerman made a quick decision to join forces” Mike’s answer had the older man intrigued.

 

“Interesting. And why would one do that?” He looked me dead straight in the eye. Curiosity was present all over his face.  

 

“Ones profession speaks volumes. It decides whether or not their morality is strong. Being a police officer is one of the most noble jobs someone could have. They help keep crimes off the streets. More often than not they put the bad people behind bars with the help of people like you” He rubbed his beard, scratched it and then leaned forward. 

 

“So, by being a cop, you’re automatically good?” He asked. And I shook my head. 

 

“I don’t believe in people being universally good or bad. There’s more than just black and white in the world. The human factor allows for a lot of grey areas” He nodded. Then he averted his gaze. His paper and pen lay dormant for the time being. 

 

He leaned back in his chair, his fingertips lightly brushing each other. 

 

“You don’t say?” He uttered “Very well… I assume you know that I used to be a judge… How does that speak to my moral character?” 

 

I knew this was a very sensitive subject. And I wasn’t going too deep into it all. 

 

“You demand respect. You always count on being the smartest person in the room, the one in charge. You do not tolerate insubordination. And while people around you have a say, yours is still always the final. Your morality is somewhat questionable. You have the power to turn people around to your will. The question is whether you use that power to manipulate people or to help them”

 

I could sense the atmosphere in the room changing. Mike was as tense as a metal bar. Erwin, who had anticipated something like this, was neither surprised nor calm. Hanji was sceptic and waiting for his final ruling. 

 

“To be honest a little bit of both. You are correct in everything you’re saying… You’re good at reading people. And that speaks to your morality as well. You can, aswell, be manipulative. We’re not that different from one another. I do not believe that you would have the stomach to kill another human being” He turned his attention towards Hanji “And you… Erwin tells me you used to be a surgeon. Malpractice, huh?” There was no point in denying it. 

 

“Yes, sir… I overrated my ability to abstain from narcotics before heading into surgery” A quick nod was issued. 

 

“Yes, Erwin told me quite a bit about your habits. Luckily there is none of your preferred drug around here. The only drugs around here are safely stored away from the general population” There was no more writing left to do. He removed the glasses and wiped the glass clean.

 

“Then I only have one other question left… Why did you leave Mr. Smith, behind?” 

 

I could have sworn I saw red. Just the mere mention of it made me want to go out and kill something. Not a living thing mind you. A walker would do… Or a doussin. 

 

“Some questions are better left unanswered” I snarled back at him. But he didn’t take it as an insult or a threat. He knew that I wasn’t cross with him. 

 

“I understand… Nonetheless, I would greatly appreciate one” Hanji cut in before I could dig our graves any further. 

 

“We had a fight regarding his decision to leave somebody who was dying behind. We made a rational decision to split up. Erwin had every chance in the world to ask us to stay… But he didn’t. So we left” 

 

There was no sound in that room. Only the background noises from the outside. Water rushing from the fountain. People talking. Children laughing. Dogs barking. And a clock ticking. 

 

_ Tick tock goes the little coo-coo clock _

 

“Very well… I understand that you were fair with your dividing of property and supplies. Everyone was satisfied in the end. You gave him a fighting chance after all… So in all of our interests I’m going to refer to Mr. Smith on this one. Since he has already vouched for you I rule the following” My breath hitched slightly “You are allowed to take up permanent residence once a two month probationary time has been fulfilled. We will be watching you closely from now on. Mr. Smith” Erwin turned his attention to Zackly “Are there still available rooms in your house?” 

 

“Yes, judge Zackly. Three rooms are empty and available” Zackly chuckled. 

 

“Alright then. I would suggest giving your two new roommates a warm welcome. I don’t have a gavel, so how about the last person out slams the door. Just for effect. As you were” 

 

**O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O**

 

“So what is there even around here? Like, could you give us a quick tour of the place?” Hanji asked politely. I knew it was hard for her to even speak to Erwin, given their history. 

 

“Could do. Up to your left is a provisional distribution. You’ll be given a certain amount of stamps every week, depending on your needs. You’ll exchange them for various foods, sanitary objects and clothes.” Outside the store stood two people, idly chatting with one another. I recognized the woman with the red hair… Petra, I think her name was. 

 

“You disgusting swine herd!” The man in front of her had dirty blonde hair and lines surrounding his mouth. 

 

“Petra, dear. You know I was only joking.” She turned around, walking away. He followed quickly behind. You could almost believe it was a fight, were it not for his hand reaching hers. She didn’t pull away. 

 

“That was Petra and Olou… They’ve been married for a couple of years. Despite what it looks like, they’re older than you think” Erwin exclaimed. Mike quickly turned the conversation another way. 

 

“Up to your right, you have the mess hall. Usually during big events or the weekly gathering, Zackly holds a speech or gives out information. I bet your names will be dropped tonight. During the evenings we usually gather there to chat with all the others. These grounds used to be a college once, until we took up residence.” He pointed towards the big gymnasium.   

 

“There are currently two and a half thousand residents living within the walls. Our numbers have greatly increased during the three years we’ve been active. And more people keep coming in… Sadly the numbers of new arrivals have been vast lately. Not too many survivors out there. You’re the first in almost a month” I took in all the information I could. 

 

“Has there ever been a breach in security?” Hanji asked. 

 

“Not in the traditional sense. At first, before the entire wall came up, there were a few deaths. No more than a handful. After the walls, we’ve only had one breach. That’s when we started checking every person before they enter Zackly’s office.” I took the opportunity to speak. 

 

“What caused the breach?” He looked stunned. We stopped by a giant tree. 

 

“A human error. We’d misread a situation. Fortunately the judge is still very alive. More than can be said for them…” He muttered the last part. I could only guess he was talking about the breach. 

 

Before giving any kind of warning, Erwin walked up to a stall. 

 

“Hello Annie, one picnic basket, please” The blonde, with a somewhat crooked nose, turned away from the monitor and went into the back without so much as a word in response. She browsed the shelves before grabbing a basket and putting food in it.

 

“Dear… Dear?” She turned around with a glare strong enough to pierce flesh. Erwin ignored it “There’s three of us” 

 

“That’s three tickets, just so you know” Erwin waved his hand, dismissing her. Annie gathered the last few things before handing it to him, he in return gave her some strips of papers.

 

“Have a nice day, Annie” The blonde muttered something underneath her breath before helping an elderly woman. 

 

“Nice girl that one, if not a little bit grouchy. She got here a month ago with nothing but the clothes on her back and a loaded AK-47. How she got a hold of that one, no one knows. Not much for conversation either” Erwin grabbed a blanket and spread it across the area big enough for us to sit. “But…” He continued “She’s a good worker, and rarely complains. Though she doesn’t play well with others…” 

 

“Cut the crap, Smith” My voice basically radiating annoyance “I couldn’t give a shit about the backstory of everyone around here. I need more information” To say Erwin was startled wasn’t accurate… More anticipating and waiting if anything. He sighed. 

 

“Levi, I know it’s been tough on you since our split, but if you’re going to take up residence here, you’ll want to know all of these things. It’s not easy… The life we live, but it’s… It’s either this or die” It wasn’t a threat, but it sure came out like one. So without further ado, I sat down on the flat surface. 

 

We ate in silence for a while, just listening to the sounds nature was making. Trees swaying, birds chirping and the occasional gust of wind playing in some windchimes. 

 

“So about that breach you mentioned earlier…” Erwin turned his attention to Hanji. To think those two had once been each other’s world. To go from that to being basically strangers… It was difficult to watch to say the least. 

 

“Yes? What did you want to know?” She looked at me. Then gave a small laugh in return. 

 

“Everything, of course. What caused it?” Erwin took a bite out of his tuna sandwich. 

 

“A couple of years ago, when the apocalypse started, Zackly gathered people from all over the state. It took him six months to get the people necessary so start rebuilding. So they set their sights on an area big enough to expand in due time, when people got word of this place that is. Only problem was, the people he already had with him” Hanji interrupted. 

 

“What do you mean? His own people betrayed him?” He shook his head, making his hair dance around a little bit. Then he scratched his chin, where beard had started growing. 

 

“Not exactly” He cleared his throat” This was in the beginning, mind you. Food was scarce, water was hard to purify in larger amounts, and there was always the threat of walkers infesting the grounds. There were several splinter groups forming, all with a common purpose… Get Zackly to surrender. They wanted to rule Wall Rose on their own, and make their own rules without so much as a soul oppose” 

 

“So they tried to kill him” Hanji uttered quietly, making sure that none heard but us. 

 

“Not in the beginning, no. But they became more impatient. They wanted more power… So they proceeded to make his life a living hell, open protests, silent killings and the whole shebang. Luckily, the judge arrested one of them. That person ended up talking and in the process, pulled an entire empire down with them. In one huge raid the empire was destroyed. And Zackly thought that was it” He stopped for a moment “I don’t know exactly how many people died in the attack, but some civilians were amongst them. Anyone that had any association with known members were brought in for questioning… He managed to get most of them…”

 

“But not all?” Hanji more stated than asked. Erwin shook his head. 

 

“One splinter group was... stronger than the others. And so… They tried to get revenge. They started preparing for a war… Two people among the resistance decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. But instead of storming the judge’s house they used their brains. They were cunning to say the least… I don’t know exactly how they did it, but they managed to get access to the main chamber of the house, the one you were in, and got really close to killing him. Apparently it was bloodbath” He finished what was left of his food and wiped his hand on the blanket. 

 

“What happened after that? With the resistance?” Erwin shrugged before gulping down on some water. 

 

“Some made it out and others were killed… Whether or not they actually survived out there is another thing entirely. We’ve picked up some stragglers wearing the crest on their back. But apart from that, no bigger groups or even a base of operations, has been discovered.” My curiosity got the better of me and I started going over all the facts at my disposal. Everything he had told me. 

 

“What crest?” He scratched the stubble on his chin before taking a deep breath. As if bracing for impact. 

 

“A green unicorn… Or a pegasus? I can’t remember which one it is” Hanji ate the last of her sandwich before reaching for a water bottle. 

 

“Unicorn’s the one with a horn… A pegasus has wings. Though in some cases, Pegasus’s does have horns…” Hanji and her weird facts. 

 

“Well whatever the terminology, it’s a green horse with a sharpened toilet paper roll attached to its goddamned forehead… Why haven’t you tried to locate these people?” It was really starting to show. How much he had changed during these past years. Not only since he left us… But since this whole thing started.

 

His eyes used to shine bright. And no… Not like Rihanna’s fucking  _ ‘Shine bright like a diamond’,  _ or whatever the name of that damned song was. Diamonds reflect light, they do not shine! Erwin basically radiated warmth. Literally and metaphorically. The eyes, as so many people would like to claim, was the gateway to the soul. 

 

His eyes had gone tired, were listless, had lost its natural light. Behind those eyes, lay a broken man in an empty shell. There was nothing left to it. His hair had lost all volume, his cheeks were starting to go hollow… 

 

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had been staring.

 

“We did… Well, they did… Before I got here. Anyways, Zackly says that there is no point in searching for something that might not even be out there. Takes up too many resources apparently” He paused to take a sip of water from his bottle “Though he is taking extra precautions… Keeping a curfew, keeping close tabs on everybody in town, making sure to always keep an eye out for trouble. Plus extra measures had been taken to keep the walls up. Making sure that they don’t fall and what-not” 

 

There wasn’t much conversation after that. We sat talking for so long that the sun was starting to set and the first stars came out. 

 

“Alright, it’s time to get this show on the road people…” We helped Erwin gather everything before going back to the market stands. Just as they were about to close. 

 

“Cutting it a little close now, aren’t we?” The blonde from earlier sneered at him, sounding as bitchy as possible. 

 

“Now, now Annie, no need to bite my head off. Just came by to leave the basket” He barely had time to hand it over before she yanked it out of his hand. She wasn’t gone more than a couple of seconds before coming back, handing him something. 

 

“Thank you, Annie… See you tomorrow!” She didn’t even wave before closing the metal window and locking it up tightly. Being basically a hole in the wall, I hadn’t even seen that they had reinforced to such a degree. Then again, it was probably necessary.

 

From what I had gathered, this place actually had a working system. No food without food stamps. Seemed rational enough. Everybody got what they needed. 

 

Erwin led us down a lit road a couple of blocks from the town square. When we reached a blue house at the end of the road, he fiddled with his keys before walking up to the front porch. 

 

“Damn, you really did well for yourself. I mean… Look at the size of this place! Two story villa! Fuck… Should have followed you after all” Hanji had no filter. When he heard those words, something within him burst. Like a broken window.

 

“I suppose” It was an apathetic answer, with little effort. Hanji still seemed none the wiser. No clue that he was hurting… But I could see it in his eyes… The way he stiffened when she’d said it. 

 

_ “Should have followed you after all” _

 

I really wonder, right there… In that moment… If it would have been better…  

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, another chapter out. I hope you all enjoyed it, leave a kudos and a comment in the comment section below! Thank you for reading, until next time ^^


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